Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

376 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 2
In this paper, highlights of some of these R & D efforts in the areas of processing and
preservation are presented. These findings should contribute significantly to achieving
food security in the region.
Introduction
Plantain, cooking bananas and various types of dessert bananas are a major source of
food in many regions throughout the world. Total world production of banana and plantain
is estimated to be over 76 million metric tons (FAO 1993) of which export especially
of the Cavendish bananas to the richer nations of the world represent eleven million
tons. The rest, i.e. over 85 % of production is made up of a wide range of bananas and
plantain varieties grown by smallholders and their families for direct consumption and
for sale in the local markets. Of this, nearly 27 million tons are made up of plantain production
about 70 % of which takes place in Africa. Hence bananas and plantains are very
important starchy staples in Africa.
Within the forest zones of sub-Saharan Africa the economic importance of bananas
and plantains lies in their contribution to subsistence economies. The near continuous
availability of harvestable bunches from an established area of bananas and plantains
notably small farms or the so-called kitchen gardens (Nweke and Njoku 1986) make it
possible for the crop to contribute to year-round food security or income production
among smallholder producers. This may be particularly important when local conditions
create periods of food shortage and other food crops are not available (Price 1995). This
trend is even further encouraged by the availability of banana and plantain varieties with
differing agro-ecological capacities. Compared to other crops grown in the traditional
agricultural systems, labour requirements for banana and plantain are relatively low;
and the cost of production and utilisation for plantain is less than for cassava, sweet
potato, maize, cocoyam, rice and yam (Table 1).
Plantains and cooking bananas therefore not only contribute directly to food security
in the localities where they are grown ; they are also being increasingly supplied as a
food source to the growing urban communities as well as to new specialised export niche
Table 1. Relative production cost of staple crops in West Africa.
Ranking Per hectare Per ton Per 1000 cal
Cheapest Plantain Plantain Plantain
Millet Cassava Cassava
Maize Sweet potato Sweet potato
Sorghum Cocoyam Maize
Rice Yam Cocoyam
Cassava Maize Sorghum
Cocoyam Sorghum Millet
Sweet potato Millet Rice
Most expensive Yam Rice Yam
Source: Marriot and Lancaster (1983).