Agriculture
Synthesis Agriculture moves to resuscitate banana production in Malawi
November 25, 2021 / Noel Mkwaila
As banana production is dwindling in the country leading to massive importation of the fruit from neighbouring countries such as Tanzania, a local horticulture firm Synthesis Agriculture has embarked on interventions to scale up cultivation of the crop.
Production of bananas in Malawi has declined due to the outbreak of the Banana Bunchy Top Disease.
Director of Programmes and Marketing for Synthesis Agriculture Mphatso Chiyembekeza said, among other interventions, Synthesis Agriculture is conducting training programmes for farmers on banana cultivation.
He also said the company has conducted research to come up with resistant varieties of the crop and the current banana suckers their researchers are producing easily adapt to the weather patterns of the all banana growing areas in Malawi.
“Malawi used to produce lots of bananas in districts like Thyolo and Mulanje but the outbreak of the disease has drastically affected production. As Synthesis Agriculture, we intervened through research and later introduced the banana suckers that we give to farmers for free,” he said.
Chiyembekeza said it is worrisome that currently some parts of the country are relying on imported bananas, the development that is draining foreign exchange for Malawi and robbing the farmers of income they could have generated from the sale of the fruit.
“Most of the bananas that are being consumed in Malawi are being imported from other countries more especially Tanzania yet we used to have lots and lots of bananas some years ago.”
Chiyembekeza, however, bemoaned resistance by some farmers especially in Thyolo District to uproot the old banana varieties and plant the new disease resistant varieties.
He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders to assist the company in sensitizing the farmers on the advantages of growing the newly developed varieties.
Synthesis Agriculture has, meanwhile, called upon more Malawians to venture into banana farming to meet local market demand for the fruit.
The Banana Bunchy Top Diseases emerged in late 2009 with Thyolo and Mulanje being heavily affected districts before it spread to other banana growing areas putting banana cultivation at the risk of extinction in Malawi.
As of 2016, it was reported that the disease had wiped off the crop affecting 185,000 banana farming households.
Malawi imports about 20,000 tonnes of bananas per week mainly from Tanzania and Mozambique.
Share this:
Leave a Comment
Comments
Mining & Trade Review News
Agribusiness News
Subscribe to Newsletter
Rehabilitation:
The establishment of a stable and self-sustaining ecosystem, but not necessarily the one that existed before mining began. In many cases, complete restoration may be impossible, but successful remediation, reclamation, and rehabilitation can result in the timely establishment of a functional ecosystem.
Archives
Remediation:
The cleanup of the contaminated area to safe levels by removing or isolating contaminants. At mine sites, remediation often consists of isolating contaminated material in pre-existing tailings storage facilities, capping tailings and waste rock stockpiles with clean topsoil, and collecting and treating any contaminated mine water if necessary.
Stakeholders Logos
