Abstract:
Banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are important crops in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) for food security and household income. However, yield has been decreasing to an
average of 4.6 tons/ha currently, and the factors leading to the decline have not been fully
determined. In the present study a diagnostic survey was conducted in the South Kivu (SK)
and North Kivu (NK) regions of the country to determine the existing banana production
constraints. Soil was sampled for analysis from 240 fields (30 samples/site) from 8 sites. The
results indicated that apart from one site (Maboya, NK), soil fertility is not a limiting factor
for banana production in the area. Planting materials used by farmers are exclusively
suckers from existing crops and there is no institution producing clean planting materials in
the area. Tillage using hand hoes for the purpose of growing common bean causes
destruction of banana roots leading to poor nutrient uptake which contribute to low yield
(3kg/bunch). Weed control is done by hand using hoes. Inadequate weeding and
inappropriate desuckering practices increases competition between plants, leading to
production of small bunches. In order of importance, the most important criteria for cultivar
selection were flavour/taste, juice quality, resistance to disease and bunch size. Diseases
including black Sigatoka, Fusarium wilt, Xanthomonas wilt, bunchy top virus, nematodes
and weevils were identified as among the main causes of cultivar disappearance in eastern
DRC. Although farmers have generally little knowledge on banana plantation management,
they have good understanding on value addition through beer brewing. Hence farmers
allocate an average of 50% of banana fields to wine producing cultivars. Cultivars from
subgroup like AAA-Cavendish, AAA-Gros Michel, AAA-Ibota, AB-Ney poovan, AABKamaramasengi
and ABB are well adopted for wine making. A total of twenty nine and
thirty two banana accessions were found to be grown by farmers in SK and in NK,
respectively. Based on similarity among these accessions using farmers’ criteria two clusters
were identified consisting of wine/beer banana, and a combination of cooking, roasting and
dessert types. The good market demand for plantains have motivated farmers in North-Kivu
to allocate the largest part of their farms (25%) to French plantain Nguma (AAB) while in
South Kivu the largest area (64.5%) is allocated to Nshikazi (AAA-EAHB) for beer
production. Farmers’ mixed cropping system includes legumes, cereals, and multipurpose trees in the banana plantation or as hedgerows. Banana production can be improved in the
study area using participatory research and development approach where smallholder
farmers could evaluate appropriate technology introduced in the form of research. The key
intervention measures are introduction of improved varieties with high yield and/or
resistant to disease and sensitization on integrated pest management which could
contribute into food security and poverty reduction.
