Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

32 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 1
to be nutritious and is readily accepted as a substitute for other weaning foods based on
milk (Ogazi 1996). In the Philippines, bananas are used to produce ketchup which is sold
commercially. It resembles tomato ketchup in appearance but not in flavour.
Traditional methods of processing are used in most countries where the crop is
grown. In some parts of Uganda, dried chips of the unripe fruit are stored as a famine
food, while elsewhere bananas and plantains are also made into flour by drying and
grinding the green fruit. Such flour is said to be more digestible than cereal flour.
Similarly, banana powder for use in confectionery is made from the ripe fruit. Dried,
ground, roasted green bananas are also used as a coffee substitute in some places.
Other uses of bananas and plantains
Non-fruit food
Other parts of the banana plant apart from the fruit may also be eaten. The banana
“heart” can be removed from the centre of the pseudostem after harvest. This can be
cooked and is like celery, with a texture and taste similar to bamboo shoots. New shoots
and male buds, after the removal of the outer bracts, can also be cooked as vegetables.
The male bud is generally produced even if the fruit themselves fail to develop or ripen
properly. In South East Asia, the male buds from wild Musa species, particularly M.
balbisiana are commonly eaten.
Use as a fibre
Bananas and plantains are frequently used as a source of fibre, and the related species,
Musa textilis (Abaca, Manila hemp) is produced on a commercial scale specifically for
this purpose. Banana fibre is produced from the dried petioles and pseudostems of the
plant and yields a strong, resilient fibre which was widely used in the manufacture of
marine ropes and in the fishing industry as it is resistant to humidity and salt water.
Lower grade fibre is used for making strong paper, which is used in teabags and other
speciality materials such as heavy paper sacks and the construction of moveable paper
walls for Japanese houses (Purseglove 1985). The main producer of Manila hemp is the
Philippines, and for many years this was the country’s leading agricultural industry.
Between 1860 and 1950, Manila hemp was the largest foreign exchange earner for the
Philippines and for a period between 1901 to 1905 it provided over two-thirds of total
value of exports from the Philippines.
Banana fibre is nowadays used widely by many countries in the production of
handicrafts such as baskets, toys, tablemats, hammocks, wall hangings, and lampshades.
In addition banana waste is being used in the manufacture of paper in several countries,
notably Costa Rica and, more recently in Australia.
Starch production
Starch can be extracted from banana and plantain pseudostems, and such starch from
the related species Ensete ventricosum provides a staple food crop in parts of Ethiopia.