A section of farmers in Maragua constituency Murang’a County are steadily embracing plantain banana farming and ditching the age-old common bananas.
According to Fredrick Kinyanjui who has ditched the normal banana farming in favour of plantain, the normal bananas have continued to fetch less profits for the farmer over the years.
He says he diversified to plantains after registering losses for years despite the tedious work he put in the farm.
The prices challenge is attributed to the presence of middlemen in the value chain as significant amount ends with them, making them a great disadvantage to the farmers.
Consequently, most farmers have now explored plantain banana farming which fetch more money in the market devoid of middlemen. They are doing away with commercial traditional banana farming only growing them for home consumption.
“Nurturing a banana stem to maturity takes close to a year and ends up fetching sh.10 or less per kilogram and that is why I uprooted my bananas and opted for the plantain variety that fetches up to five times in the market compared to the normal bananas,” observed Kinyanjui at his farm on Tuesday while tending to his clearly healthy plantain banana suckers.
“In my two-acre piece of land here in Kamahuha I have over 250 stems of plantain bananas which I began with only 84 mother plants in October 2020,” he said.
“I initially had planted other varieties which did not do well and I uprooted them only remaining with a few stems for home consumption,” he adds
Kinyajui observes that when thoroughly irrigated, especially during the dry months, the bananas are ready to harvest in between 9 to 12 months.
“Prepare your planting hole at 30cm by 30 cm by 30cm while observing a spacing of 8 to 10 feet and mix the top soil with manure thoroughly before placing your sucker in the planting hole and covering it with half of the soil that was dug out of the hole,” he says.
He notes that plantain bananas do well in acidic soil with a Ph. of 5.5 and are usually larger and tougher than bananas as they come with a much thicker skin and are easier to manage but give a higher return on investment.
“For more productivity, considering plantains are not susceptible to any pests and diseases, ensure you adequately water your plants, mulch and regularly add compost manure and or urea fertilizer to promote green leafy growth,” he notes.
Apart from selling mature plantains at Sh60 per kilo at farm gate price, the retired truck driver also sells the suckers at Sh300 per sucker while also offering agronomic support to farmers eager to venture into plantain farming, earning a hefty sum.
Notably, the current farm gate price for an average kawaida 60kg bunch of bananas is Sh. 200 whereas the retail price ranges between Sh400 to Sh450 in the same area.
Outside the county, the same bunch of bananas will fetch up to Sh800.
The price for a kilo of plantain bananas ranges between Sh300 to Sh450
A bunch can carry up to 8 banana pieces or less.
Plantain lovers attest to the fruits’ ability to lower blood pressure by promoting cardiovascular health, improving digestive system and weight management owing to their fiber richness, high antioxidants, potassium and vitamin c presence.
Kinyajui advises farmers who do not have the means to venture into plantain farming to consider banana value chain addition as it will help them sell their produce for better prices while ensuring that the fruits last longer than their normal shelf life.
By Florence Kinyua
