An Economic Assessment of Banana Genetic Improvement and ...

46 CHAPTER 4
The most widely used mechanism for
information about recommended management
practices is farmer-to-farmer dissemination,
in all the production regions. More
than 90 percent of farmers surveyed reported
that they obtained information regarding
banana management from other
farmers, and nearly two-thirds (61.26%)
were provided information by formal
sources. Farmers often received information
from multiple sources. Of formal sources,
government extension was more frequently
reported perhaps due to the wider coverage
and the historical involvement in dissemination.
The dissemination of new agricultural
technologies in Uganda was traditionally
the role of the government extension service,
which was joined by some NGOs in
the 1990s as part of an economic recovery
program ushered in by President Museveni’s
government.
On-farm research and mass media are
relatively new mechanisms introduced especially
in the Central Region as a strategy
to revive banana productivity. As expected,
researchers are popular as a source of information
in this region, because on-farm research
intervention has been more concentrated
there compared to other regions. A
quarter of farmers reported receiving information
through mass media. Radios are a
frequent source of information in some
areas, but publications are rarely used.
Conclusions
Pest and disease problems have long beset
banana production in Uganda and Tanzania.
To address these problems, banana researchers
in the Lake Victoria region have
sought host-plant resistance through assembly
and evaluation of endemic and nonendemic
germ plasm as well as crossing and
genetic transformation. They have also recommended
management practices to reduce
pest and disease damage, and support soil
fertility. Farmers have continued to search
for fresh planting material nearby and at
great distances.
Distinct approaches to disseminating
new materials were pursued in Uganda and
Tanzania. In Tanzania, the immediate impact
of KCDP was impressive in terms of
numbers of plantlets distributed, but the
longer-term effects will need to be observed
with the passage of time. Chapter 9 provides
some additional information regarding the
impact of KCDP.
NARO in Uganda holds the perspective
that farmer-participatory selection and dissemination
improves the confidence of
farmers in new banana cultivars, helping
them to acquire skills and develop criteria to
select genotypes suitable for them. Given
the reproductive properties of bananas,
planting-material distribution systems designed
by farmers themselves appear to be
most appropriate, enabling step-by-step and
systematic diffusion of improved cultivars
to farming communities. Nonetheless, closer
inspection of alternative dissemination models
and mechanisms would be necessary to
verify which are more cost effective or efficient,
and why.
As in the case of planting material, the
most common sources of information about
recommended banana management practices
is other farmers, although extension
services and researchers have been popular
sources of information in some localities
where public efforts have been focused.
Radio is also an important source of information,
but use of publications by farmers is
negligible.
References
Bosch, C. H., A. Lorkeers, M. R. Ndile, S. R. B. Mgenzi, and E. Sentozi. 1996. Diagnostic survey:
Constraints to banana productivity in Bukoba and Muleba districts, Kagera Region, Tanzania.
Working Paper 8. Bukoba, Tanzania, and Amsterdam: Agricultural Research Institute Maruku
and Royal Tropical Institute.