Economic gain and other losses? Gender relations and matooke production in Western Uganda

Over the past decades cooking-banana (Matooke) has become increasingly important as food and especially as cash crop for farm households in Isingiro district in the western region of Uganda. High urban and regional demand for Matooke and dwindling Matooke productivity in other areas, drove expanded banana production and more intensive mana- gement. We hypothesised that the increased focus on Matooke by households in Isingiro, affected women and men both as individuals and as household members and affected gender norms on what constitutes a good wife or husband. Qualitative data from one community in Isingiro district was generated based on six in-depth Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), eight structured individual interviews and one community profile using the GENNOVATE method. Survey data with Matooke producers in Ishingiro (N = 51), FGDs with produ- cers (3) and key-informant interviews (5) from a Matooke value-chain development project (ENDURE) was used to compliment and triangulate findings. Results show that the rapid expansion of Matooke cultivation has brought economic progress to many households and has markedly changed the physical landscape in the area. Ownership of a Matooke planta- tion is now among the most important criteria for determining male status and Matooke plantations are largely controlled by men. The focus of men on Matooke has made it easier for women to grow annual crops which increases their options of earning cash income. Women’s access to land however is decreasing. Land is firmly in hands of men and with increasing land scarcity, they allocate less land, less often to their wives for cultivation. Women frequently rent land to cultivate but this is also becoming more expensive and less available. Although women spend a lot of time working in banana plantations, sales is exclusively controlled by men. Only women in female-headed households control sales from Matooke plantations, also because permanent cultures such as banana are not accepted on rented land. We conclude among others that the division of labour in Matooke production is highly gendered. Women in male-headed households benefit from increased revenue at household level but are limited in their options to engage in individual income-generating activities

Unravelling technology-acceptance factors influencing farmer use of banana tissue culture planting materials in Central Uganda

Effective management of plant health is fundamental for food and income security to meet the growing demands of local and global markets. This however requires farmers’ adequate access to quality planting materials under the prevailing contextual and psycho-social factors. This study, anchored in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies, unravels technology-acceptance factors that influence farmers’ intentions to use banana tissue culture planting materials in the control of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt. Data were collected from 248 randomly sampled banana farmers using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modelling to examine hypothesized paths in the uptake of banana tissue culture planting materials. Results show that farmer intentions to use tissue culture planting materials are dependent on two constructs: social influence and farmer innovativeness. However, social influence is the main predictor of intentions to use tissue culture planting materials. In particular, farmer innovativeness mediates facilitating conditions and social influence in predicting intentions to use tissue culture planting materials. Thus, this study reveals two factors that influence farmer intentions to use tissue culture planting materials: social influence and farmer innovativeness. The findings imply that social influence and farmer innovativeness are critical in disseminating novel agricultural technologies in Uganda and elsewhere

User guide to the four-square method for intervening in root, tuber and banana seed systems. RTB User Guide

This guide presents a step-by-step procedure on how to use the four-square method for intervening in root, tuber and banana seed systems. The four-square method is a research tool that supports the generation of evidence on seed systems diversity so as to formulate interventions to conserve varieties and to improve availability, access, and quality of seed forvegetatively propagated crops (VPC). The tool consists of four squares that are drawn on either the ground or on a chart. Varieties of the crop of interest are mapped in each of the four squares based on their abundance i.e., Each square therefore represents either varieties grown by many households on large area, many households on small area, few households on large area or few households on smallarea. The data is collected in a participatory way using focus group discussions (FGDs) guided by questions that are framed according to the objectives of the study. The objectives could include, but no limited to, understanding local crop diversity, understanding the economic potential of crop varieties, setting breeding goals and developing plant breeding programs, determining impacts of seed interventions on crop varieties and monitoring crop variety diversity changes over time. Separate FGDs are often held for men and women to capture gender-specific perceptions. The social characteristics of FGD participants such as their age, marital status, level of education, and main occupation are also collected and used in the analysis. The tool can also be used to study on-going and completed seed system interventions

Tools for understanding the agricultural production systems and their socio-economic context in target regions for the introduction of new banana cultivars: Community wealth ranking focus group discussion

Within the framework of the IITA-led project “Improvement of banana for smallholder farmers in the Great Lakes region of Africa” (also known as the “Breeding Better Bananas” project, http://breedingbetterbananas.org), Bioversity International and partners conducted baseline research in the target regions of Luwero and Mbarara in Uganda, and Bukoba, Meru, Moshi and Rungwe in Tanzania during 2015-2016, prior to conducting on-station and on-farm evaluations of the new NARITA banana cultivars. Five tools were used to characterise the banana and agricultural production systems, and the socioeconomic context of these systems, in the target regions. The research used a mixed-methods, participatory and sex-disaggregated approach to ensure that the knowledge, experiences and opinions of as many people as possible were obtained. The community wealth ranking FGD tool is used to discuss the different types of households who live in this community. A "Ladder of Life" exercise is used where the community is imagined as a ladder - at the top step are the ‘best-off’ households in the community and at the bottom step are the ‘worst-off’ households in the community. The characteristics of households at the different steps of the ladder are described and discussed. The information that is gathered during the exercise is used to understand the community structure in the village and how the banana production systems differ between them, and will help the researchers to plan any subsequent project activities that may take place in the village

Gendered mapping and consumer testing of steamed matooke in urban areas of Uganda

Cooking banana or matooke is a key staple food for Ugandans, usually consumed in steamed form. Breeding interventions over the years have focused on increasing productivity for farmers especially in lieu of resolving constraints such as pests and diseases and adverse weather (drought). However, despite gains in productivity due to improved or superior cultivars, end-user uptake remained lukewarm. As a result, it was important to understand the underlying reasons for this leading to the studies that sought to investigate end-user preferences for the matooke consumed along the value chain beyond farmer fields. The current study focused on exploring the attributes of steamed matooke that are desirable or undesirable for urban consumers segregated by gender, age and income status. This approach is a useful precursor for targeted breeding of cultivars possessing consumers' preferred characteristics. The study was conducted in Kampala and Wakiso. First, a gendered food mapping involving use of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Individual Interviews (IDIs) was conducted. This was followed by a consumer test with 381 consumers where four steamed matooke samples/cultivars were evaluated namely, Nakitembe, Kibuzi, Ntika and Mpologoma. Steamed-mashed matooke was the most consumed form (97%) and with the highest frequency of consumption (83%). Of the cultivars assessed Kibuzi was most-preferred during the FGDs and also had the highest mean overall liking in the consumer test (7.2). Ntika was least-preferred (5.9). However, differences were observed among income classes and gender groups (sex and age). High- and low-income consumers gravitate towards steamed Kibuzi while for the middle income it was Mpologoma. The females (adult and youth) showed more preference for Mpologoma while the males liked Nakitembe more. The mapping of sensory characteristics showed that the key drivers of overall liking were a yellow color; a nice aroma; attractive looking; sweet (delicious, not sweet like sugar); Homogeneous (one color); good taste and soft. Matooke taste proved a key determinant for the preference of steamed Kibuzi over the other steamed matooke. It is therefore important to unlock this attribute in terms of sensory quantitative descriptive analysis and physico-chemical characterization, to guide breeding efforts geared towards improving sensory acceptability of matooke cultivars. Differences were observed in preference among different income and gender categories. Therefore, breeders need to package appropriate products based on the preferences of the various socio-demographic segments, including by gender and income class groupings to enhance new cultivar adoption

Does gender matter in effective management of plant disease epidemics? Insights from a survey among rural banana farming households in Uganda

Crop diseases significantly suppress plant yields and in extreme cases wipe out entire crop species threatening food security and eroding rural livelihoods. It is therefore critical to estimate the extent to which shocks like disease epidemics can affect food availability and the capacity of smallholder farmers to mitigate and reverse the effects of such shocks. This study utilizes sex-disaggregated data from 341 households in Uganda to analyze: first, gender and access to agricultural resources and their control; second, whether men and women in the targeted banana-farming communities share similar perceptions toward the effectiveness of the banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) control technologies and their respective information dissemination pathways; third, whether gender and farmer perceptions influence on farm adoption of BXW management practices. Lastly, it determines the impact of adoption of BXW control practices on food security. Results show that whereas most household assets are jointly owned, men have more individual ownership, control, and decision-making on income from household assets than women. Perceptions on effectiveness of BXW control practices and communication channels also differed between men and women. Men rated cutting down of infected plants to be more effective than women, but tissue culture, removal of male buds and disinfecting of farm tools were perceived to be equally effective by both men and women. In addition, apart from newspapers which were more effective in delivering BXW information to men, we found no differences in the effectiveness of other BXW information sources. More importantly, the study finds both gender and farmer perceptions on BXW control to significantly affect adoption of BXW control practices and household food security. For better and sustainable management of plant epidemics in Uganda, it is therefore critical that existing gender-based and underlying perception constraints are addressed

Workshop report: strategic planning workshop on recovering Banana production in BBTD affected areas: community and farm household approaches

Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) caused by the Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV, genus Babuvirus, family Nanoviridae) renders plants unproductive and eventually kills affected plants. BBTD spreads into new fields along with infected planting material and through the banana aphid, Pentalonia nigronervosa, which is widespread in all banana and plantain-producing areas. BBTD was first reported from Africa in 1901, however, extensive spread into new production areas has been observed during the last two decades. The disease has very recently invaded Benin and Nigeria in West Africa in addition to limited spread within the Kivu provinces (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC), neighbor to the largest banana-producing country in Africa - Uganda.Currently, Bunchy top has been recorded in 35 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia and the South Pacific Islands, including Hawaii (USA), but not in the Americas. In Africa, occurrence has been confirmed in 14 countries, namely Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, DRC, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia