Extending the Benefits of Banana R&Amp;D to Small-Scale Farmers
National pathogen-free banana and plantain repositories
FFTC's Role in the Special Project
The role of FFTC in this three-year project (2002-2004), in particular, was to help train the staff of the participating institutes in the use of tissue culture techniques, and the maintenance of virus-free stock nurseries. Three international training courses were conducted in the first year: tissue culture techniques for banana; indexing techniques for banana virus; and health management of a virus-free repository.
In the second year, a survey was conducted by a technical team to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, to help set up repositories for pathogen-free important Musa spp, and a propagation system for healthy seedlings. Distribution of disease-free foundation stock was also done, as well as training sessions on virus indexing, tissue-culture (TC) techniques, propagation of disease-free banana, and field management of healthy banana plants, for technicians and extension specialists in each country. A workshop on IPM: The Use of Disease-free Planting Materials and Banana Production System Using Disease-free TC-plantlets was conducted in each country. Efforts have also been made to establish demonstration field plots with pathogen-free planting materials in the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI) in southern Vietnam, and the Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute (VASI) in northern Vietnam.
Accomplishments for 2004
In 2004, continuous technical support was provided for the establishment of pathogen-free banana repositories of important Musa cultivars and a seedling propagation system, while affiliated countries were supplied with improved diagnostic probes free of charge.
The final workshops of this project were organized and held in Vietnam on October 4-8, 2004 to assess the overall performance of this three-year undertaking. The first part was the two-day International Workshop on Sustainable Banana Production through the Use of Healthy Seedlings. This activity aimed to provide a venue for the sharing and exchange of practical knowledge and techniques to ensure the availability and enhance the distribution of high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties of banana for use by farmers.
The second part of this final activity was a one-day Training Workshop on Postharvest Technology for the Quality Improvement of Banana. This workshop equipped the participants with practical knowledge and technology on banana post-harvest management to meet consumer demands for quality banana toward improved competitiveness and increased income. Primarily, the workshop focused on post-harvest management to improve quality in terms of taste and appearance, and to reduce losses of bananas during shipment from the farms to consumption centers.
New Hope for Banana Farmers
Given the benefits and great potential of the banana industry in the Asian region, national programs on banana must be able to address common regional needs and interests. Thus, strengthening complementation of activities among the various NARS in the region toward a unified effort is the challenge that this special project was committed to overcome. The Center's participation in this program is aimed at complementing INIBAP-BAPNET's goal to come up with focused initiatives to realize the full potential of the region's banana industry. FFTC and INIBAP are confident that this special project will contribute toward giving new hope to millions of marginalized banana farmers in Asia.
Index of Images
Figure 1 Banana Demonstration Plots with Tissue-Cultured Plantlets, Sofri, Vietnam
Figure 2 Below: Banana Postharvest Facilities at Sofri. Right: Demonstration of Postharvest Technology
