Banana Production Systems, Constraints and Management Strategies in Nyeri County, Kenya

Banana (Musa acuminata L.), ranks first among horticultural fruits in Kenya. The crop accounts for 17.8% of the total value and 34.5% of all fruits. The crop is mainly grown for food security and income generation mainly by smallholder farmers. In Kenya, the crop is one of the prioritized value chains for upgrading. The aim of the study was to conduct a situation analysis on banana production in Tetu and Othaya sub-Counties of Nyeri County. Data on household characteristics, banana production practices and constraints and marketing was collected from banana farmers and subjected to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The study indicated that 81% of households heads were males. The respondents (80%) depended on farming for livelihood. Farmers mainly grew banana cooking variety Uganda green (42.5%), ripening variety Sweet banana (21.49%) and Muraru (20.18%). Most farmers used suckers (72%) obtained from own farm (50%) and community (37%) as planting materials. Only 3% of the respondents used tissue culture (TC) banana plantlets. Local market (46%) absorbed most of the banana produce. The main constraints identified to affect banana production were delayed rainfall (60%), diseases (60%), lack of improved varieties (57%) and field pests (48.5%). The findings from this study showed that men are more involved in banana production and farmers had not embraced tissue culture technology for clean planting materials and yield improvement. Therefore, there is a need for gender inclusion in banana production and training programs which are essential for raising awareness TC banana technology for disease management and increased yield for enhanced food security and income.