Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Afrique / Africa : A. Mensah-Bonsu et al.
Treatment 1 yielded better in Gyedu compared with Nyinahin perhaps due to better
weed management at an early stage in plant growth. Similarly, farms in Gyedu showed
markedly higher levels of sucker production compared with Nyinahin for all
treatments. At both sites, sucker production was lowest for treatment 1, followed by
treatments 2, 4 and 3. These results show clearly that hot water treatment and
improved crop management practices have positive effects on plantain production.
For 1997, the number of bunches produced for treatments 3 and 4 ranged between
58.5-72.0% of the number of bunches harvested in 1996. It is also worthwhile noting
that at farms where maintenance has been continued, treatments 3 and 4 are still
yielding in 1998. Plots for treatments 1 and 2 were, however, largely abandoned by the
farmers in 1996 because of low bunch weight or plant toppling due to root damage by
nematodes. Since data was not available for plots 1 and 2 (plots inaccessible),
estimates are presented based on the ratio of 1996 yield to 1997 yield for treatments 3
and 4. Similarly, estimates are also presented for sucker production in 1997.
Costs and benefits
Results of the economic analysis are presented in Ghanaian Cedis where US$1 is
currently equivalent to 2310 Cedis.
The cost of plantain production varied according to management strategy (Table 4),
due largely to differences in the costs of sucker type and weeding. Untreated material
cost 50.00 Cedis per sucker, while the treated material was valued at 200.00 Cedis per
sucker at the start of the on-farm trials in 1995. Farmer’s management practices using
untreated materials was clearly the cheapest management strategy (treatment 1), due
to lower costs for planting materials and lower weeding frequency. For all treatments,
production costs decreased by approximately 50% in the second year of production
since there was no outlay for land preparation, planting or planting material. For the
farmer-managed plots there was a further reduction in costs in 1997 that was not
observed in researcher-managed plots, due to the reduction in weeding frequency by
farmers. Costs for Nyinahin were higher in the first year compared with Gyedu, perhaps
due to differences in land preparation expenses, but were similar in subsequent years.
Quantifiable benefits obtained from the plantain production included the sale value
of the fruit, suckers and intercrops produced, at the farm gate price (Table 4). Benefits
recorded for the first year of the trial were due to the sale of intercrops, therefore the
benefit from treatment 3 (sole-cropping) was nil for all farms. On average, the benefits
from the researcher-managed plots in 1996 (approx. 1.1 million Cedis/ha) were almost
double those obtained from farmers’plots with untreated material, while farmers’plots
with treated material gave intermediate benefits, thus reflecting production
differences. For treatments 2, 3 and 4, the benefits were similar at each site while for
treatment 1, the benefit at Gyedu was approximately 50% higher than at Nyinahin,
perhaps due to better management. In 1997, relatively high benefits were still obtained
for treatments 3 and 4. In particular, the benefit for treatment 4 at Gyedu was 98% of
that obtained in 1996, representing over 1 million Cedis/ha.
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