Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

488 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 3
banana production is market-driven. A more detailed study of the cooking banana
marketing channel is therefore required in order to understand how to bring more
middlemen into the cooking banana market and enhance production.
Introduction
Cooking banana (Musa spp., ABB group) was introduced in Southeast Nigeria in the late
1980s as a short-term strategy to combat black Sigatoka disease because of its high level
of resistance. Black Sigatoka is a fungal leaf spot disease which can reduce plantain
yield by 30-50% (Stover 1983). Since the introduction of cooking banana, research efforts
have been concentrated mainly on its agronomic aspects (Hahn et al. 1990, PBIP 1994,
1995, 1996) and utilisation systems (Oyesile 1987, Hahn et al. 1990, Ferris et al. 1996).
Little or nothing is known about its market status. If cooking banana is to be widely
adopted into the Nigerian cropping system, it must be produced beyond household food
needs (i.e.) it must be marketable. Southworth (1981) contends that growth in output
can scarcely be achieved without markets. Lynam (1990) also observes that the potential
to increase the production of a particular crop is dependent on its marketability.
Apart from cursory observations by Ferris et al. (1994) and Akalumhe (1994) no
empirical study has been carried out to examine the actual market status of cooking
banana in Southeast Nigeria. For instance, it is not yet known whether or not cooking
banana is produced beyond household food needs. And if it is, what is the amount of
surplus and how does this get to the consumers? In other words, how is the marketing of
the surplus organised? In addition to finding answers to these questions, this study
examines the relationship between cooking banana production and market factors.
The broad objective of this study is to examine the market status of cooking banana
in Southeast Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives are to:
• evaluate the proportion of cooking banana sold by farmers;
• examine the organisation of the cooking banana market;
• compare market prices between cooking banana and plantain; and
• examine the relationship between cooking banana production and market factors.
Methodology
Selection of respondents
The study was conducted between June and October 1998 in the plantain/banana
producing regions of Southeast Nigeria. It was, however, restricted to the areas where
cooking banana was initially introduced, in Bayelsa, Imo, and Rivers States, and where
the largest concentration is found (Tshiunza et al. 1998). Apart from IITA-Onne and
ADP-Owerri tissue culture laboratories, two institutions, Shell Petroleum Development
Company and Green River Project of Nigeria Agip Oil Company, played a major role in
the dissemination of cooking banana in these States. Twenty villages were randomly
selected from a list of villages where these institutions had introduced cooking banana.