TITLE:
Banana as a Cash Crop and Its Food Security and Socioeconomic Contribution: The Case of Southern Ethiopia, Arba Minch
AUTHORS:
Molla Mekonnen Alemu
KEYWORDS:
Banana, Cash Crop, Food Security
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: Food security is a challenge in many developing countries.
Nations are still struggling to make use of
available resources so as to combat hunger. Drought, land degradation,
marketing constraints, improper post-harvest handling and anthropogenic factors
are minimizing the production and productivity of agricultural land resources. Making use of improved technologies,
adaptable crops and high yielding cash crops, however, are also helping
many to cope up with food insecurity. Banana production is significantly
contributing for food security as well as livelihood opportunities in Southern
Ethiopia. But, technical works on the value chain of the crop are still minimal; it would have resulted a tangible impact on the
national income in terms of export earnings and food security too. The Southern
Ethiopia, Gamo Gofa Zone is the leading banana producer in the
country. This article assesses the potential contribution of banana production
to food and income security in the area. The paper also explored the major
banana production maximization bottlenecks. 63 farmers of Arba Minch Zuriya
District were interviewed to extract primary information. Discussions were held
with Government officials. Different reports and related literatures were also
reviewed. The result showed that, banana production was having a significant role for the wellbeing
of the community explained in terms of food
security, income source and serving as source of feed for livestock. Problems
associated with marketing and post-harvest handling are also identified being
production problems. The fact that, the production of banana is mainly
dominated by men has also let the men to sell the crop and have an independent
control over the cash. Therefore, community awareness development, improving production systems and developing the culture of
saving could help to have a sustained impact of banana production in the
region.