Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

286 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 2
interplanted with other crops. Therefore, production directly affects food security and
income generation. The diversity of climates allows the cultivation of plantain; there are
six regions with 14 different agroecosystems where plantain is being cultivated, from sea
level to 2000 metres altitude, with a range of temperature from 17 to 35°C. Among the
cultivated species, the most important is Musa AAB Simmonds, with three varieties:
Hartón, Dominico-hartón and Dominico. This presentation focuses on trade in the regional
market of the central coffee area, which is the main producer for the internal market
(32% of the national cultivated area and volume of production). This region has the
highest standards of quality of life and enjoys a strategic location in the country, close to
the main markets of Bogotá, Medellin and Cali. Although several alternatives for this
product’s food chain marketing exist, there are no collective schemes that permit coherent
policies of prices from producers to consumers. The food chain is organised on the basis:
producer>intermediary>wholesale market>retail market>consumer, with too many links
without any added value of the fresh plantain. Production losses are around 10%.
Processing is in the early stages, notably for chips and starch. Thus, Colombia still presents
an enormous undeveloped production and marketing potential for international trade.
Plantain production in Colombia
Plantain is considered a staple food in the nutrition and economic well-being of millions
of people. As well as providing employment, it is considered the fourth most important
food in the world in terms of crude production value, after rice, wheat and milk. In many
countries it is not only one of the main components of the family shopping basket but
also a profitable product in various developing countries, generating much needed
income.
Latin America and the Caribbean together produce approximately 7.3 million tons
annually. Outstanding among these countries is Colombia, which produces 2.97 million
tons, equivalent to 42% of the Latin American production, followed by Ecuador with one
million tons and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and Haiti with
productions between 300,000 and 650,000 tons.
Plantain is an important crop that is grown in all areas of the country. In Colombia it
occupies approximately 400,000 hectares, with a production of 2.97 million tons annually,
96% of which is for the internal market. Notwithstanding its great popularity, it is a
particularly complex crop especially in its production, which involves a large number of
planting methods and a wide range of agro-ecological conditions. It is used as a
subsistence crop interplanted with coffee, cocoa, and other crops and as a pure stand,
planted at altitudes ranging from sea level to 2000 metres and within a temperature
range of 17-35°C. Among the species cultivated, those of greatest economic importance
are the Dominico-Harton (false Horn), the Dominico (French type), and the Harton
(Horn type), all of the genotype Musa AAB Simmonds. Within the national context
(Annex 1) the Andean region appears as the most important production zone, followed
by the Caribbean and Orinocan regions. The Caribbean region includes the Uraba zone,
dedicated particularly to plantain for export.