Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Introduction : B. Delvaux
flows and mineral budgets in more traditional banana farming systems. In addition,
though mineral immobilisation by bananas and plantains can be similar (Marchal and
Malessard 1979), the mineral nutrition of plantain has been largely neglected and should
be further investigated (Lahav 1995).
How do we analyse banana cropping systems?
A first step in the understanding of banana cropping systems concerns the description of
their typology. Literature data provide information related to case studies. Typological
determiners involve mostly socioeconomic, spatioeconomic and spatiotemporal criteria
as well as ecological parameters, management practices, and to a lesser extent, soil
fertility aspects. According to Chataigner (1988), the main types of plantain cropping
systems in West Africa can be classified according to two major factors: the population
density and the integration of production into the market. Such typological assessment is
sketched out in Figure 1.
From literature data out of other ecological areas (Jaramillo 1987, Janssen 1993,
Davies 1995, Rhishirumuhirwa 1997), it seems that such typological assessment can be
applied to a wide variety of ecological conditions and socio-economic environments. In
this respect, the role of banana crop in the farming systems must be analysed not only in
terms of food production or economic return, but also with regards to social aspects
(Davies 1995) as well as to soil protection, water storage and mineral budget
(Rhishirumuhirwa 1997). The methodologies used to describe banana-cropping systems
are similar to those applied in diagnostic surveys (“enquête diagnostic”). In such
surveys, the investigation is based on the characterisation of the variability in situ
occurring in currently cultivated plots (Perrier and Delvaux 1991). These surveys were
Integration in the market
population density
low high
high
- shifting cultivation,
mixed cropping with food
crops
- mixed with tree crops
(coffee, cocoa, hevea…)
- commercial estate
- agro-industrial complex
- backyards (subsistence)
- backyards (local market)
- compound gardens
- family orchards
Figure 1. Typological assessment of plantain farming systems adapted from Chataigner (1988).
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