Farmers in Nanggung subdistrict live on or below the poverty line with access to less than 1 hectare of land, consisting of irrigated rice fields (0.3 ha) and upland tree gardens (0.5 ha). Traditionally, tree gardens products are intended for household consumption with some sales in local markets. Management is not intensive, the use agricultural inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, quality germplasm) is infrequent, and labor is focused on harvesting. Proximity to Jakarta and its infrastructure offer Nanggung farmers opportunity to target production to meet rising demand for fruit and vegetable products in lucrative urban and international markets. Fruit and vegetable products with a high demand include: banana, durian, mangosteen, rambutan, petai, jackfruit, chili peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, peanuts, green beans and chickpeas. Banana holds particularly high potential, being the most common and profitable tree garden crop in Nanggung. Market demand far exceeds supply. Under Nanggung conditions bananas will produce fruit 12 months after establishment and then every 4-6 months thereafter. However, the quality of garden products is inconsistent and often inferior. Farmers have limited market knowledge and linkages. Farmers are interested in intensifying their tree farming activities, but hesitate because they are not sure where to focus their efforts. We report here ongoing work to assist Nanggung farmers improve their tree garden management to enhance both the quantity and quality of the products and strengthen their ability to respond to market opportunities. Banana is used as an example of how to achieve success.
Tag: bananas
Agro-ecosystems, their population densities and land cover in Indonesia in the context of upland-lowland relationships
RUPES and similar programs relate to increasing interest in landscape level interactions between land users in uplands and lowlands. Basic data on the total area and the number of people involved in the various combinations of land use types are helpful in prioritizing action research.
Using strategic entry points and linked technologies for enhanced uptake of improved banana (Musa spp) germplasm in the humid highlands of East Africa
Diagnostic surveys conducted in the mountain district of Lushoto, Northeastern Tanzania revealed a decline in banana (Musa spp) production largely attributed to deteriorating soil health, soil erosion, low adoption of proven banana technologies, and at least partially, due to a lack of innovative scaling out approaches. Further, most farmers were not practicing soil and water conservation (SWC) because it is labor intensive. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews established that improved tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), cabbage (Brassica spp) and banana germplasm were the three most preferred technologies, and hence were considered important entry points. The uptake of these technologies was however different. Banana uptake was slowest because of the high cost of planting material. Limited planting materials were supplied by the African Highland Initiative (AHI) for multiplication using primary schools and farmer research groups. Improved banana technology was linked to SWC technologies that included stabilizing the soil by fodder species and increased manure from well-fed livestock to address the multiple constraints of erosion and declining soil fertility. In this paper, entry points refer to interventions addressing priority needs as identified by farmers, while linked technologies refer to integrated, complementary technologies that holistically address multiple constraints, leading to multiple benefits. Results show that in Lushoto, for example, the increase in farmers adopting improved banana germplasm from the original adopters, who were in direct contact with researchers, was about 1,125% within two years. The study shows that the use of innovative scaling out approaches increases the adoption of technologies that appear expensive and less attractive to farmers.
Tracking the spillover of introduced technologies: The case of improved banana (Musa spp) in Northeast Tanzania
This paper reviews a methodology for tracking the pattern and extent of spillover of introduced technologies, using improved banana (Musa spp) germplasm in Lushoto, Northeast Tanzania, as a case study. Such tracking is important in understanding the factors responsible for the spread of technologies and the accompanying farmer innovations. Spillover of technologies, as used here, refers to the spontaneous flow, or spread, of technologies between farmers using their social networks without external interference. Formal surveys, farmers’ records and focus group discussions were used to establish the path taken and distance covered by the technology, the barriers encountered, and modifications made by farmers on the technology. Lessons derived from the study show that farmers made different modifications to the introduced technologies in order to fit them into the existing farming systems. The pattern of spillover is very much related to existing social networks in the community. Kin (nuclear and extended families) accounted for 53% of the spillover of improved banana germplasm, compared to 47% in non-kin (friends and neighbor) social networks. Improved banana suckers, introduced in Lushoto, were found as far as in Dar es Salaam; more than 300 km away. Gender bias was exhibited in the spontaneous sharing of cash generating technologies (cash crops) like banana, with exchanges between women being negligible.
Tracking the spillover of introduced technologies: the case of improved banana germplasm in North-eastern Tanzania
This paper reviews a methodology for tracking the pattern and extent of spillover of introduced technologies, using improved banana (Musa spp.) germplasm in Lushoto, Northeast Tanzania, as a case study. Such tracking is important in understanding the factors responsible for the spread of technologies and the accompanying farmer innovations. Spillover of technologies, as used here, refers to the spontaneous flow, or spread, of technologies between farmers using their social networks without external interference. Formal surveys, farmers’ records and focus group discussions were used to establish the path taken and distance covered by the technology, the barriers encountered, and modifications made by farmers on the technology. Lessons derived from the study show that farmers made different modifications to the introduced technologies in order to fit them into the existing farming systems. The pattern of spillover is very much related to existing social networks in the community. Kin (nuclear and extended families) accounted for 53% of the spillover of improved banana germplasm, compared to 47% in non-kin (friends and neighbor) social networks. Improved banana suckers, introduced in Lushoto, were found as far as in Dar es Salaam; more than 300 km away. Gender bias was exhibited in the spontaneous sharing of cash generating technologies (cash crops) like banana, with exchanges between women being negligible. This paper highlights the key challenges and lessons, as well as illustrates the application of the findings, in improving delivery of research and extension services
New host and geographic records of five pleosporalean hyphomycetes associated with Musa spp.(Banana)
A study was undertaken to collect and identify saprobic fungi associated with Musa spp. (banana) from Taiwan, China, and Thailand. Samples were collected during the dry season and their morpho–molecular relationships were investigated. Five brown pleosporalean hyphomycetous taxa in Periconiaceae and Torulaceae viz. Periconia cortaderiae, P. delonicis, Torula chromolaenae, T. fici, and T. masonii were identified for the first time from Musa spp. (Musaceae). Phylogenetic analyses of a combined SSU, LSU, ITS, RPB2 and TEF DNA sequence dataset further justified the taxonomic placements of these five taxa in the above mentioned families. Periconia delonicis is reported for the first time on a monocotyledonous host and T. masonii is the first geographical record from Taiwan.