Articles
Towards organic production of plantain banana: striking a balance between agronomic performance, economic viability and the environment
Article number
1367_3
Pages
25 – 34
Language
English
Abstract
Plantain banana production in several western and central African countries needs improvement if it is to contribute to food safety and sovereignty.
Plantain bananas are usually grown in intercropping systems with either annual crops or cocoa, with minimum chemical input use.
Some plantain banana farmers have adopted monoculture systems with high plant densities and high levels of chemical inputs, emulating dessert banana production systems.
This disregards the well-known negative impacts of such practices on human and environmental health.
Can plantain banana production be intensified on a plot level, without increasing chemical inputs? In Ivory Coast, a producer set up several pesticide-free plots of plantain bananas.
We took the opportunity to determine the feasibility and the agronomic and economic performances of three pesticide-free plantain-based cropping systems.
Three plots are being studied on the same farm, all three with a highly productive monoculture, a high density of commercial and appreciated indigenous cultivars, a layout to facilitate cultural practices, irrigation to ensure a continuous market supply and a combination of organic and synthetic fertilizer use.
The plots included no pesticide application, but a set of agroecological practices to limit biotic stresses, two different fertilization levels and three planting densities.
The cropping systems description is ongoing and the economic and agronomic results are currently available from planting up to the first harvest.
The next phase will be to set up an experiment with higher organic fertilizer levels to minimize chemical inputs and reduce production costs, and to confirm those observations.
Plantain bananas are usually grown in intercropping systems with either annual crops or cocoa, with minimum chemical input use.
Some plantain banana farmers have adopted monoculture systems with high plant densities and high levels of chemical inputs, emulating dessert banana production systems.
This disregards the well-known negative impacts of such practices on human and environmental health.
Can plantain banana production be intensified on a plot level, without increasing chemical inputs? In Ivory Coast, a producer set up several pesticide-free plots of plantain bananas.
We took the opportunity to determine the feasibility and the agronomic and economic performances of three pesticide-free plantain-based cropping systems.
Three plots are being studied on the same farm, all three with a highly productive monoculture, a high density of commercial and appreciated indigenous cultivars, a layout to facilitate cultural practices, irrigation to ensure a continuous market supply and a combination of organic and synthetic fertilizer use.
The plots included no pesticide application, but a set of agroecological practices to limit biotic stresses, two different fertilization levels and three planting densities.
The cropping systems description is ongoing and the economic and agronomic results are currently available from planting up to the first harvest.
The next phase will be to set up an experiment with higher organic fertilizer levels to minimize chemical inputs and reduce production costs, and to confirm those observations.
Authors
P. Pugeaux, T. Lescot, R. Achard, S. Dépigny
Keywords
agronomic evaluation, economic evaluation, pesticide-free, plantain banana
Groups involved
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