Small-scale banana growers prosper in Kenya in a transformed value chain
S. Harris and K. kinyua
Program and Abstracts, Banana 2008, Banana and plantain in Africa: Harnessing international partnerships to increase research impact, Leisure Lodge Resort, Mombasa, Kenya, 5-9 October 2008. 198 pages.
2008
บทคัดย่อ
Small-scale banana growers prosper in Kenya in a transformed value chain
Banana production and a marketing in Kenya is dominated by very large numbers of small-scale subsistence farmers each growing small quantities of dessert banana. These small farmers all sell their surplus production into numerous brokerage chains that add considerably to the consumer price but actually add very little value in terms of quality and consistency. Banana producers receive a small fraction of the end price paid by consumers and cannot afford to invest in appropriate input supply that would transform their productivity and profitability as grower. TechnoServe has developed a new approach to the banana system that incorporates several factors in operation at the same time i.e. i) organized, trained and focused banana growers groups, ii) product aggregation and standardization that allows for economies of scale and enhanced quality delivered to the consumers, iii) direct market linkages between the growers groups and larger, more organized wholesalers in the urban markets and iv) access to credit and investment in improved input supply and appropriate irrigation technology. As a direct result of these production and marketing innovations, TechnoServe-assisted banana growers are now enjoying much higher prices for their fruit, doubling and even tripling of productivity and income, and greater demand in their marketing channel. These banana growers now see banana as an important cash crop rather than just a subsistence crop with occasional cash sales.