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Farmers adopt tissue culture bananas as county builds factory

Bananas in a farm. Farmers in Taita-Taveta have embraced tissue culture banana varieties to improve yields as they seek to benefit from a Sh116 million processing plant that is under construction in Taveta sub-county. PHOTO | FILE | MATION MEDIA GROUP

By  Lucy Mkanyika

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Through their co-operative society, Taita Taveta Banana Farmers Association (Tataba), residents have been mobilised to grow the crop that does well in the region.
  • Farmers in the region produce at least 35-60 tonnes per acre of the fruits in a year. The crop currently is under 2,080 hectares.
  • Tissue culture varieties take a maximum of 12 months to mature, unlike traditional suckers, which may take up to 18 months and yield less.
  • County executive for Agriculture Davis Mwangoma said the department has already distributed over 5,000 tissue culture seedlings to farmers.

Farmers in Taita-Taveta have embraced tissue culture banana varieties to improve yields as they seek to benefit from a Sh116 million processing plant that is under construction in Taveta sub county.

Over 6,000 farmers have already planted the new varieties. The factory will need over eight tonnes of banana produce daily.

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