Pests and diseases, high cost of farm inputs and lack of certified seeds are the major challenges facing banana farmers, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation has said.
To address this problem, the organisation has started producing varieties that are disease-resistant and drought-tolerant.
Felister Makini, the deputy director in charge of crops in Kalro, said on Thursday one of the varieties is Cavendish, which is resistant to panama wilt disease.
“We are working round-the-clock to come up with another variety that can do well in parts of Eastern Kenya, where there is scarcity of water,” she said.
Speaking on Kalro's farm in Naivasha on Thursday, Makini said post-harvest losses that occur during packaging and transportation are also a big problem.
Despite the challenges, Makini said value addition had increased farmers' earnings as more products were produced from bananas.
“We now have banana wine, crisps, vinegar and others. We shall continue to support these farmers, so they can produce more,” she said.
She said the organisation and the World Bank had also embarked on a training programme to address planting materials, soil fertility and harvesting problems.
Eric Kirimi, a farmer from Tharaka Nithi, cited diseases and low prices in the market as their main challenges. He said they were keen on the training being offered by Kalro as it would help them learn modern farming methods.
“Currently we have a variety of diseases and pests like banana weevils that have hit farmers, adversely affecting production, and we are using integrated pest management to contain them,” he said.
Edited by A.N
