Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Afrique / Africa : B. Banful
The green fruits of either horn or French Plantain is sliced into chips, which can be
fried in oil or dried and processed into flour. In recent times, there is a growing demand
for “fufu” flour and therefore plantain holds a promising future in this area of processing.
The fibre from the pseudostem is used in the rural industry to manufacture several
products such as ropes, door mats, etc.
Consumption patterns
Banana is usually eaten as dessert throughout the country. All plantain produced in the
country is consumed locally. Boiled plantain, both green and ripe stages, is served as
breakfast, lunch and supper for most Ghanaians. Statistics indicated that in 1992,
11 billion Cedis worth of plantain was consumed which represented 3% of the total food
consumed (Ghana living standards survey 1992).
Generally, there is no clear pattern in the consumption of plantain at the household
level in both rural and urban areas. During the lean season when demand for plantain
fruits exceeds supply, dietary patterns change as less plantain in included in the daily
diet. The average per capita annual fresh weight consumption if 83 kg/head which is only
exceeded by cassava (PPMED 1991).
Marketing system
About 75% of the produce is sold at the farm gate to market women from urban centres
or at the village market. The bulk of plantain is available from October to February.
The road network in production areas has improved in recent years and therefore
movement from farm gate to market centres is not a problem. A major problem however,
is packaging of fruits. They are commonly packed together in clusters of fingers and
loaded in bulk, up to a depth of two metres on trucks without any packaging device to
protect the fruits. Alternatively, individual fingers may be packed into sacks for and
loaded onto trucks or stacked on the roof of mummy trucks.
Most of the sellers sell their plantain to both retailers and consumers, however, a
peculiar situation occurs in a few markets where the women who bring the plantain to
these markets have no right to sell to either wholesalers or retailers. There are “market
queens” and designated middle women who dictate the prices and also sell the plantains
on commission. Generally, French Plantain attracts higher prices than Horn Plantain.
The current marketing system appears to be satisfactory but it is suggested that the
role of “market queens” or middle women needs to be abolished to reduce retail prices.
Modernisation of marketing arrangements to facilitate timely movement and distribution
of produce could boost production.
The role of research
The National Plantain Programme of the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP)
was initiated in October 1991 with funds from the World Bank. Funds for on-station
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