An Economic Assessment of Banana Genetic Improvement and ...

28 CHAPTER 3
disease, which affects endemic and some
exotic cultivars. Fusarium wilt is another
fungal disease that attacks the roots of banana
plants. The exotic brewing cultivars
are particularly susceptible to it (Gold et al.
1993). Bacteria wilt has emerged as a new
and major disease since 2001. Due to its
severity, and the fact that presently there is
no cultivar in Uganda that is resistant to the
disease, it poses a major threat to banana
production in the country. Therefore, research
priorities have recently shifted to
mainly finding a solution to control banana
bacteria wilt.
Drastically declining yields in the historical
areas of production have led to the
replacement of bananas with annual crops,
and the locus of banana production has
shifted to the southwest, where productivity
biotic pressures are less, but the distances to
urban markets are greater. Productivity in
central Uganda is estimated at 6.0 ton/ha,
while in the southwest it is 17 ton/ha, still
low compared to the potential 60 ton/ha attainable
at research stations (Tushemereirwe
et al. 2001). Despite the decline in production,
banana is still the most preferred staple
in many localities, commanding a relatively
high price in urban markets.
In Uganda, available historical data reveal
sharp declines in both output and yields
between 1970 and the early 1980s, followed
by stagnating national yields (FAO 2004).
The decrease in production in the 1970s and
1980s resulted from a severe outbreak in
banana weevil in the southwest (for example,
Masaka) and a combination of increasing
weevil pressure and declining management
and soil fertility in the Central Region,
then the locus of banana production. Increasing
banana production between 1980
and 2003 is largely due to area expansion
and the shift in production to more productive
regions in the west. Evidently, banana
yields have not recovered to pre-1980 levels,
despite intensifying efforts to improve productivity
through R&D.
Soil fertility depletion is a major contributor
to declining banana yields in Uganda
(Gold et al. 1998). Either inorganic or organic
fertilizers can be used to improve soil
fertility on small farms. There is very little
use of chemical fertilizers in banana plots.
The low profitability of inorganic fertilizers
explains their low adoption by farmers, and
major improvement in market infrastructure
is a prerequisite for substantial adoption to
occur (Nkonya et al. 2005). Organic fertilizers
are the most important fertility amendments
that farmers apply to cropland. Intensive
application of organic fertilizers in the
form of mulch (that is, grass, crop residues,
or kitchen refuse) or animal manure (that is,
cattle, goat, pig, and poultry manure) in
banana groves can improve and maintain
soil fertility even when fertility is inherently
low.
The efforts of Ugandan banana researchers
during the 1990s have been directed toward
formulation of operational strategies
to address pest and/or disease problems and
create more awareness of the importance of
fertility management by farmers. Although
a number of crop-management techniques
have been developed and recommended to
farmers over the years, most are practiced
irregularly and sometimes not at all. Not
practicing these techniques encourages bare
soils between mats, where erosion starts too
readily. Farmers have had decreasing access
to grass mulch and manure in many (but not
all) areas. The direct consequences are low
yields and reduced longevity of the banana
plantation.
In addition to soil and biotic constraints,
banana productivity and returns to production
inputs are further limited by the following
socioeconomic constraints: (1) high cost
of production due to high intensity of demand
for labor, manure, and mulch; (2)
temporally limited markets, especially at
peak harvest, as a consequence of the high
perishability of the product; (3) high costs
of marketing fresh bananas due to their
bulk, perishability, and long haulage distances
to markets; and (4) the inability of
most farmers to access markets and exploit
opportunities.