Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Asie - Pacifique / Asia - Pacific : L. Setyobudi
production areas in 1994 are Sumatera (16.37%), Java (67.33%), Bali and Nusa Tenggara
(6.22%), Kalimantan (1.95%), Sulawesi (7.85%), Maluku and Irian Jaya (0.28%). The
national productivity average is 10.34+5.38 tons/ha. Productivity is lower than its real
potential because of minimum technological applications in orchard management or
rather traditional horticultural practices.
The socio-economic importance of bananas has increased recently especially among
the rural community. For a long time in the Indonesian community, people have
recognised the importance of the crop. This recognition is due not only to the economic
value of banana fruits but also to its role in food security in many parts of the country.
For the last 10 years, the contribution of bananas in Indonesian food security was
confirmed by an increase of 3.26% in growing areas and 8.98% in productivity each year.
The role of bananas is becoming more important because of its nutritional value and the
diversity of uses of the fruit through processing are now recognised. With regards to
income generation, Getas Research Institute reported in 1994 that the NBCR (Net
Benefit Cost Ratio) of banana was 4.5 and the IRR was 37-42% if considering only the
cost of fruit production.
Among the major fruits, banana is the mostly consumed: 6.81 kg/person/year
(25.78%) by urban people and 10.30 kg/person/year (43.83%) in rural areas. The data
suggest that banana has a more important role in food security in the rural areas than in
cities. The potential availability of the growing area in Indonesia that has not been used
is 33.3 million hectares distributed in different regions, as well as beside 194,996
hectares of misused estate cropland that can be converted into banana plantations. The
growing rate of banana agribusiness and the level of Indonesian banana consumption are
very low compared with other countries in the Southeast Asia region.
Both domestic and export market of Indonesian bananas have steadily increased
since 1992. However, the increasing marketing potential has not significantly motivated
the development of banana growing areas or improvement of yields. This would imply
that a strong banana strategic campaign is needed to improve the role of the banana in
Indonesian economy and food security.
National production
With a total production of 2,614,110 tons in approximately 302,730 hectares planted,
bananas are mostly grown in the backyards and are important home garden crops used
for a diversity of purposes. The productivity ranges from 3-60 ton/ha depending on the
variety and level of horticultural practice intensity. National productivity average is
10.34+5.38 tons/ha. Productivity is lower than its potential due to minimum
technological applications in orchard management or rather traditional horticultural
practices. Banana is grown in all 27 provinces of Indonesia. Considering the geographical
distribution, Java Island contributes 67.33% of the national production areas in 1994
followed by Sumatera (16.37%), Bali and Nusa Tenggara (6.22%), Kalimantan (1.95%),
Sulawesi (7.85%), Maluku and Irian Jaya (0.28%). It is to be noted that 60% of the
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