Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

288 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 2
scale producers and managerial or company sized producers (Table 2), whose cropping
systems are distinguished by the method of interplanting. In all production cases, with
the exception of the tenant farmer, who belongs to a small producer category that is
dedicated to home consumption and the feeding of animals, the other producers are
classified according to the volume produced and the method of sale, whether it be local,
national or international, exporting to Central America, North America and Europe.
Large scale production, and occasionally, large producers have access to private
technical assistance, while the majority of farmers and small producers do not have
access to this service, considered, like credit, to be an efficient tool in the process of
diffusion and adoption of technology and a corresponding increase in productivity and
production.
National consumption
In Colombia, plantain is an important crop not only for its strategic importance in the
rural sector but for its outstanding importance in the urban food supply. Plantain is
consumed in all stages of ripeness from very green to very ripe and its preparation is as
varied as the distinctive regions of the country.
Consumption (Table 3) of various departments of the Andean and Inter-Andean
region indicates that the principal consuming region is the Cauca Valley with
104 kg/capita/year, followed by Risaralda and Quindío with 86 and 82 kg/capita/year
respectively. The department where consumption is least is North Santander with
21 kg/capita/year.
According to Table 4, in terms of volume consumed per person per day, plantain is
ranked first in importance among 25 food products in daily demand, followed by such
items as milk, potato and rice, among others. If urban and rural consumption is analysed,
plantain occupies first and second place, respectively, which demonstrates its popular
position as a food energy source with the consumer.
Table 2. Types of producers and crop system.
Type Size of farm (ha) Cultivation system
Small 0.1-5.0 Inter-planted *
Associated**
Pure crop
Medium 5.1 - 15.0 Associated
Pure crop
Large 15.1 - 30.0 Associated
Pure crop
Company Larger than 30.1 Associated
Pure crop
Source: CORPOICA Region 9. Region 9 Specialisation in the process of technology generation and transfer
for the planting and exploitation of viable plantain crops. 1997.
* Without uniform spatial distribution: may include various species of crop.
**Spaced in accordance with a defined planting system that complements that of the principal crop.