List Of Bananas In Uganda
Banana Crop in Uganda
Banana is a tropical crop and is among the Ugandan staple foods.
Banana cultivation forms part of everyone’s daily life and deeply embedded in the culture of people in areas that grow bananas.
The banana growing has been sustained by the cultural, social and economic values that the Ugandans attach to the crop and the naturally sufficient rainfall and good soils in areas that grow bananas.
Bananas are mainly grown in the central, southern and southwestern regions of the country.
The bananas are mainly grown on small scale by household for food and the surplus to sale on the market.
Uganda which produces about 9 million tons of bananas is the second largest producer of bananas after India. Uganda is the largest producer of bananas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), followed by Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
Plants produce fruit year round and for a long time provided they are taken care of and bananas are suitable for intercropping with a number of crops including cabbages.
What are the types of bananas that grown in Uganda
There are five different types of bananas grown in Uganda as follows:
1. Cooking bananas
• Locally known as matooke and there are different varieties of matooke.
2. Brewing bananas
• These are mainly grown for juice which is either drank as juice or fermented into to produce local brew (Ntoto). There are a number of banana varieties for juice including the Mbidde, Musa and others.
3. Dessert bananas
• These are mainly eaten as dessert and the main types include bogoya & sukali Ndizi( Apple Banana)
4. Roasting bananas
• These are mainly eaten when cooked or roasted and the main variety is the Gonja. It is important that any cooking banana can be roasted but the best is the Gonja.
5. Exotic Red Banana
Products from banana fruit
Many products come from bananas including the following:
• Factory or locally processed Waragi
• Locally processed banana wine (Tonto)
• Roasting Banana Plantain (‘Gonja’)
• Pancakes (Kabalagala)
• Banana Juice
• Banana flavourings / essences
• Cosmetics i.e. use in Body shop products
• Replacement flour in Bakery products
• Banana flour used as a constituent in baby/weaning foods
Importance of Banana Crop
Banana is an important staple foods in many parts of Uganda especially in Western, Central and South western Uganda. Banana crop provide food security and income for small-scale farmers.
Uses of banana plant
The banana plant has the following uses:
1. It producers banana suckers for replanting
2. Banana fibre for roofing , making mats, ropes
3. Banana fibre used in making art pieces
4. Banana fibres as wrapping material
5. Fiber for roofing ,making baskets, mats etc
6. Leaves are used for cooking and among other uses
7. It is used for mulching the banana plantation
8. Used as animal food during the dry seasons
Which type of banana is grown in Uganda?
The most widely grown cultivars are cooking types belonging to the East African highland banana (EAHB) subgroup.
The other bananas grown in the country include dessert bananas, such as ‘Sukali Ndizi’ and ‘Bogoya’, Plantain cultivars (locally called ‘Gonja’) for roasting and ‘Kayinja’ and ‘Kisubi’ for making beer.
Where are bananas grown in Uganda?
Banana Crop in Uganda
Bananas are mainly grown in the central, southern and southwestern regions of the country. The bananas are mainly grown on small scale by household for food and the surplus to sale on the market.