Biotechnology to Benefit Small-scale Banana Producers in Kenya

This project was conceived in response to the rapid decline in banana (Musa) production experienced in Kenya over the last two decades. The decline was brought about by: infestation with Panama disease or Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense (FOC); Black and Yellow sigatoka leaf spot caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Morelet) and Mycosphaerella musicola (Leach) respectively; weevils (Cosmopolites sordidus) / nematode (Radopholus similis) complexes; and, environmental degradation. The common farmer practice of using untreated sword suckers aggravated the problem further. The situation threatened food security, employment and income in banana producing areas. Thus the broad goal of the project was to make available to small-scale resource-poor farmers clean and improved banana seedlings to alleviate the increasing poverty and hunger in Kenya. These farmers make up to nearly 80% of the Kenyan population and their agricultural production, which is mainly subsistence, contributes over 90% of food production in the country. The application of tissue culture (TC) technology to address these constraints, was therefore an appropriate option to ensure availability of clean planting material. The specific objectives of the project were to build and upgrade banana TC capacity in Kenya by (i) systematically introducing the technology to farmers and supporting them with the necessary extension, (ii) establishing public/private sector links to ensure timely availability of the TC materials, (iii) carrying out a technology diffusion study to understand and appropriately respond to any issues that may limit adoption of the technology and (iv) developing a sustainable production-distribution-utilisation system as a means of ensuring food security and creating jobs. To a large extent, the feasibility and appropriateness of the technology within the farming system of smallholder farmers was established. However, several issues relating to the eventual large-scale commercialisation of the technology emerged. The first one was the need to include an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package in order to prolong the orchards’ longevity. Secondly, for farmers to reap maximum benefits, it was found necessary that field management packages to safeguard the health of the plantlets and the environment be included in the technology transfer package. Thirdly, the cost of plantlets was found to be an important limiting factor to technology diffusion. As a result, access to credit for orchard establishment was found to be essential. The project now sees a need to establish a sustainable system of wider evaluation and horizontal technology transfer through involvement of a broad network of partners with comparative advantage to mobilise large-scale impact.