Abstract
Banana is a key crop in the livelihoods of many people in the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa. For more than a decade now, the crop has been threatened by Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) which has spread throughout the region but at different rates. The disease attacks all banana cultivars and can cause up to 100% yield losses at farm level if effective control measures are not put in place. However, limited information on impact of BXW at regional level is available to guide interventions. Thus, this study assessed the impact of BXW on farmers’ livelihoods in Kagera basin of Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. A total of 436 households (Tanzania 120, Burundi 208 and Rwanda 108) mostly from major banana-producing and BXW-affected districts were sampled and interviewed in a household survey. Thirty-three to seventy-five of the total banana mats per farm in the three countries were infected with BXW. Banana production losses caused by BXW were valued at US$ 10.2 million and US$ 2.95 million in Tanzania and Rwanda, respectively, banana sales by farmers dropped by 35% while bunch prices unpredictably doubled. Since banana is a key component of these farming communities, the banana production losses resulted in significant reduction in household food security and incomes. To cope with these challenges, most households are diversifying into other food crops such as maize, cassava and sweet potatoes. This poses a number of socio-economic and biological implications that require further investigation. Key words: Banana Xanthomonas Wilt incidence, economic loss, food security.
Highlights
To the best of our knowledge, the few Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) socio-economic studies that have been done to date did not fully quantify the economic losses and BXW effects on household food security and incomes in the other EAC countries of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi which have been greatly affected by BXW disease in banana production
Farmers‟ ranking of banana production constraints in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania show that BXW disease was ranked first by most farmers (Figure 1)
Up to June 2011, the BXW disease was still spreading in the region due to the fact that a number of farmers and their respective communities are not adhering to the BXW control measures
Summary
Some ABB cultivars, for example, „Pisang awak, are susceptible to insect vector transmission and are believed to facilitate the rapid spread of the disease (Tushemereirwe et al, 2003). The economic impact of BXW is due to death of the whole mat that would otherwise contribute to the ratoon plant production cycles This disease has similarities to other bacterial wilts of banana, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (Thwaites et al, 2000). To the best of our knowledge, the few BXW socio-economic studies that have been done to date did not fully quantify the economic losses and BXW effects on household food security and incomes in the other EAC countries of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi which have been greatly affected by BXW disease in banana production. The study aimed at (i) assessing the spread of BXW disease, (ii) quantifying the economic loss due to BXW disease, and (iii) assessing the impact on household food security due to BXW disease in different banana farming communities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
