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Can Banana Value Chain Help Eliminate Hunger in Uganda and Tanzania?

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In this study we assess the potential role that the banana value chain can play in reducing poverty and eliminating hunger among rural and urban poor in Uganda and Tanzania. We provide a comprehensive analysis of banana consumption and productivity in the two countries and we scope the challenges and opportunities for providing more efficient and enhanced production and marketing focusing on smallholder enterprises along the commodity value chain.

To undertake this study we extensively reviewed published data and grey literature from national programs across the EAC and international sources to establish the best available information on supply and demand for bananas. But in view of the limited and unreliable nature of available data we …show more content…

In Uganda and Tanzania banana consumption (in total and per capita) is among the highest in the world. They provide 10% of the calorie intake of more than 70 million people. Over 4 million smallholder households cultivate bananas and plantain which provides an annual household income of about US$1,244 – one of the highest smallholder income-generating agricultural commodities in the region. Bananas are fast growing with high biomass yield. They are popular and versatile and can be processed into food products, beverages (soft and alcoholic), snacks, feed, industrial spirits, crafts, and medicines. As food, some varieties are sweet and tasty for desserts while plantains can be cooked or roasted. Studies show that bananas produce the cheapest carbohydrate. Bananas grow in a wide range of environments and farming systems including pure stands, intercropping, and livestock/crop farming systems. They fruit all-year-round, which puts them above other crops as a food and income security crop.

Banana plants make an important contribution to environmental conservation – it is a perennial crop whose roots and broad leaves help to maintain soil structure and provide protective soil cover throughout the year. All these factors position bananas as a key resource. By developing the banana value chains, a number of sustainable and reliable income generating activities can also be supported. In Uganda annual banana production is about 10 million MT. Some

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