Multi-pronged approach sought for sustainable banana production

A multi-pronged approach is the need of the hour to enhance banana productivity and improve export market sustainability, said speakers at the inaugural session of the national conference on banana being organised by the National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy (NRCB), a unit of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR ) and the Association for the Improvement in Production and Utilisation of Banana (AIPUB).

Delivering the keynote address, H P Singh, deputy director-general (horticulture), ICAR, said unless issues like supply of quantity planting material, optimum utilisation and valuation of genetic engineering for developing disease-free cultivators, ensuring quality and health of the crops, eco-friendly biological control of pest and epidemics, development of infrastructural facilities for post harvest of bananas and market promotional activities are addressed, there was no future for Indian bananas to retain or sustain the top market slot globally.

Pointing out the disparity among banana growing states in the country on the aspects of productivity, Singh said that Maharashtra with over 72.20 lakh hectare under banana cultivation, produces 62.9 tonne per hectare, while Tamil Nadu with 81.50 lakh hectare produces only 42.5 tonne of output per hectare.

Other states too maintain productivity figures ranging from 35"�7.8 metric tonne per hectare, while the national average is 30.6 tonne. On the contrary, Costa Rica, one of the top banana producing countries in the world, is maintaining 52.54 tonne of production per hectare.

India is the largest banana producer with an export portion of 0.04 per cent. The total volume of exports from the country was only 14.65 million tonne valued at $4.7 million. The missing link is the quality of bananas and plantains matching the requirement of the export markets, Singh added.

In his address K L Chadha, president, AIPUB, called for conversion of banana cultivation as a food crop from a fruit product.

Among the horticultural crops, the contribution of banana to the GDP in agriculture is the highest at 1.99 per cent and it is high time that India emulated the models of Costa Rica and other countries in adopting post-harvest techniques.

He, however, noted that the efforts of planning commission in clinching the present day status of fund allocation for horticulture development to Rs 26,000 crore in the 11th Five-Year Plan, from what was only Rs 25 crore in the 7th Plan.