Good Tidings for Banana Farmers in Kenya

A high yielding, pest resistant variety of banana has been developed in Kenya –good news for many Kenyan banana farmers who have in the recent past suffered from the onslaught of banana pests. A scientist at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Professor Esther Kahangi, is largely credited with the development of the ‘tissue culture’ banana. The high yielding tissue culture banana has already uplifted livelihoods of many Kenyans living in rural areas in close to 14 districts due to their rapid multiplication. The tissue culture is an improvement on tissue culture banana developed in 1997 which, although resistant to poor weather conditions, was vulnerable to pest attack. Apart from its value as a food crop, sales from banana output provide the much-needed household income for small-scale farmers in Kenya.

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