Boost for banana output as new variety set for launch

Arusha. A new high yielding banana variety will be launched at the Nelson Mandela University here on Monday May 23, 2022. The hybrid variety, Tariban,is expected to have a 30 percent higher yield compared to the current ones grown chiefly by smallholder farmers.

Tariban, like other varieties of the same crop, has been developed under the Breeding Better Bananas project hosted at the pan African university.

It is being implemented in Tanzania and Uganda, the leading banana producers in Africa, through the support of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The project, according to IITA, aims to develop new high yielding hybrid banana varieties with resistance to pests and diseases.

The focus is on two of the most popular cooking bananas in the region; East African highland banana (EAHB)), also known as Matooke and Mchare.

The breeding programme, now underway in Tanzania and Uganda, fortifies resistance against pests and diseases but maintains the traits enjoyed by consumers.

The programme has roped in the national agricultural research institutions in the two countries; chiefly the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (Tari) and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (Naro). Numerous other institutes and banana breeding programmes are involved and linked to the project through various mechanisms.

According to a release from IITA centre for eastern Africa in Dar es Salaam, the launch will be graced by the minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe.

The launch will be followed by a workshop drawing research scientists from the ministry, IITA, research stations and the development partners, among others.

The experts will visit the IITA laboratories and the demonstration fields within the Nelson Mandela University campus at Tengeru.

According to statistics, Tanzania and Uganda produce a half of all bananas grown in Africa with an annual value of $ 4.3 billion.

The major diseases affecting banana production are Fusarium wilt, Black leaf streak diseases (Sigatoka disease and banana bacterial wilt.

Key pests are the plant parasitic nematodes (microscopic worms) and banana weevils.

Besides being the leading banana producers in Africa, Tanzania and Uganda consume 50 percent of bananas grown in the continent.

However, the two countries realize only nine percent of the potential yield due to poor productivity largely attributed to diseases and pests.

Likewise, they do not feature among the leading exporters of the food crop because of poor quality and little efforts made to secure reliable export markets.