Banana Diseases in Kagera: Lumpsum solutions will not help our farmers

Kagera has a rich diversity of banana varieties and is the largest producer of the best type of banana to serve of types of utilization purposes. There are varieties for cooking only (Ebitoke), there are varieties for roasting only (Enkojwa, Echitegombwa), there are varieites for eating as fruits (Enjoge, Akanana) when ripe and there are varieties for making juices (Omulamba) and local beer (Olubisi) from Embile type of varieities. In each of these categories there various types of used for special occassion by special people.

But all these traditions soon will be history, the number of diseases in banana in all district has increased tremednously and threaten to whipe out banana in a shortest time possible. These days where ever you go banana diseases has become a talk of the day throughout the year. To some this is time for making money from donors in the name of saving banana farmers without taking care of the future of banana industry and contribution to the traditions of Kagera people.

Most of the efforts is now being directed at introducing new varieties that are believed to be tolerant to the suspected diseases and promoting them at any cost. Most of the organizations involved have no people with expertize in the Banana diseses or banana management (a Breeder or Pathologist)and are new to banana management tradition that has maintained these varieties for years in Kagera.

Currentlly, efforts concentrate on introducing a single type of variety especially Mutwishe in the whole of Kagera. This will be a major blow in the future should another disease that affect that particular variety reach the area.

Where have our breeders gone?

As I said earlier Kagera has a the largest banana diversity ever known in this country. By concentrating on introductions makes me think of two things. First we have no breeders to specialize in bananas grown in Kagera or theose available have less interest and less concerned with the genetic errosion we are currently creating. Second there is no serious funding that is aware of the importnace of maintaining the diversity and its role in disease management. Third, our research is donor driven and most effort is on the number of new planting materilas one have managed to raise in the nursery and distribute to farmers rather than finding the soution of improving resistance to existing materials (germplasm) i.e. efforts to find local banana varieties that have genes with with resistance to major diseases which I believe exists.

Lack of genetic improvement and research on Local varieties coupled with poor understanding of best bet traditional banana management have led to intensifying the problem in areas it never existed before. these introduction of ppalting materials by NGOs carry disease to new areas. Lumpsum solution such as involvement of NGOs in forcing varieties to farmers is killing banana production in Kagera.

what is then needed?

Policy guidelines are needed with regard to distribution of banana planting materials, Socio economists should try to understand what is happening to the traditional ways of banana production, breeders should be concernded with maitaining and utilizing the diversity to control the diseases. The government and well wishers of Kagera should make effort to fund genetic improvemnt and disease control. The growing market of bananas from Kagera (Ndizi Bukoba) should be the catalyst for investing in local banana improvement.

..........We can have no complement to the banana I have known for decades and I am not convinced that we can make changes from the existing germplasm.