Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

230 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 1
Indonesian people live in Java Island and more than 60% of the domestic market is also
in Java.
The dessert banana varieties most grown and asked for in the domestic market are
Pisang Ambon, Pisang Raja Group (Sere) and Pisang Barangan. Pisang Kepok and Pisang
Tanduk are leading for the cooking banana. Other minor varieties are cultivated in
different areas and some times considered as their own superior local variety. The
acreage of Pisang Kepok is recently decreasing because of the threat of the blood disease
(Moko disease) caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum race 2. The disease was
discovered in 1907 in South Sulawesi and has been reported in Maluku, Java, South
Sumatera, and a few month ago the disease reached the Southern area of West Sumatera
Province. Other major limiting factors for the development of dessert bananas is
Fusarium wilt (Panama disease).
From 1990 to 1994, pests and diseases affected the growing areas and a regular
decrease of harvested area (approximately 14.25% per year) was noted whereas the
national production increased by 3.67% and the productivity also increased by 27.46% per
year.
In Indonesia, total yield losses from the banana producer to the consumer average
40%. Therefore, improving horticultural technology and extension are significantly
important in promoting banana production. However these improvements must be
followed by consumer education campaigns to prevent unbalanced production supply
and demand that would result in discouraging banana development programs.
By using more extensively the available horticultural production techniques and
limiting post harvest crop loss technology, Indonesian banana production 1999-2003
could be projected as follows (Table 1).
Table 1. Expected production and consumption of Indonesian banana industry in
1999-2003 (in 000 tons).
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Rate of increase
(%)
Production 3,602 3,764 3,933 4,110 4,295 4.81
Consumption 1,199 1,257 1,321 1,394 1,476 5.78
Balance 2,403 2,507 2,612 2,716 2,819 4.33
Source: Directorate General of Food Crop (1998).
National consumption
This information is based on the result of the National socio-economic survey on
households conducted annually by the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistic published
in 1997. The consumption pattern of the population changes from period to period or
region to region depending on taste, income and environment. The following
interpretation shows the role of bananas in the Indonesian diet.
Cereals still dominate in the total daily Indonesian diet (e.g. rice: 23.12%) and fruits
contributed only 5.21% in 1996. Among the fruits, bananas are the most consumed