Sometimes, finding ways of diversifying farm income can be found in a country’s past.
The banana is such an essential part of the diet in Uganda that the local word for the fruit, ‘matooke’, also means ‘food’.
For generations, the crop has been a staple food and source of income for small-farmers, with Uganda amongst the top 20 producer countries in the world. Ugandans are also the largest consumers of bananas – eating an estimated 250kg-300kg per person per annum.
But despite the huge available markets, many small-holder farmers have moved away from banana growing since the early 1990s, as declining soil fertility, bacterial wilt, banana weevils and the breakdown of agricultural extension service support led to diminishing yields.
Self Help Africa’s Kayunga project is encouraging a return to banana production in the region and over the past two years has provided farm families with training and improved variety banana plantlets to promote the crop.
61-year old Charles Mawanda and his wife Sauda (42) are part of the Kisoga Twekembe Farmer Development Group which has been piloting banana production in the Kayunga area.
The couple received 200 improved variety banana plantlets and training in modern plantation management, which encouraged them to resume a farming activity they had abandoned nearly a decade ago.
“We lost hope in banana as a source of livelihood, because the yields we were getting were no longer enough to sustain the family,” said Charles.
In 2009 they harvested their first bumper crop from the new plantation and sold enough bananas to pay school fees and buy books and materials for their school-going children.
The couple’s plantation has also become a demonstration plot for other farmers, as the project continues to distribute banana plantlets on a revolving fund basis and encourage small-holder farmers to return to an activity which can add vital income and nutrition to their households.
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