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Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall and application of potassium and nitrogen fertilizers on banana growth and yields. In areas that receive less than 1100 mm of rainfall per year, additional rainfall increases yields by 65%. Application of potassium increases yields by 88%, while nitrogen is not required. A framework for computing banana growth and yield in response to the amount of water stored in the soil is described. Where the soil water storage capacity is low, mulching increases yields by 10% but it has no effect in areas where the soil water storage is high. This framework is envisaged to guide improvements in banana management and productivity in East Africa.

Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall and application of potassium and nitrogen fertilizers on banana growth and yields. In areas that receive less than 1100 mm of rainfall per year, additional rainfall increases yields by 65%. Application of potassium increases yields by 88%, while nitrogen is not required. A framework for computing banana growth and yield in response to the amount of water stored in the soil is described. Where the soil water storage capacity is low, mulching increases yields by 10% but it has no effect in areas where the soil water storage is high. This framework is envisaged to guide improvements in banana management and productivity in East Africa.

In Kenya, bananas and Irish potatoes are important staple crops. In the early 1990s, the crops were devastated by plant diseases resulting in immensely declined productivity and vulnerability of smallholder farmers. To address this problem, disease resistant varieties and tissue culture technology were introduced through partnerships. This thesis examines the working of these partnerships in the process of selecting, multiplying and disseminating improved planting materials under changeable and sometimes unanticipated social and material conditions, and whether this enabled technical change. The study describes how partnerships shape and manage technical change and how distributed task groups coordinate their actions. Partnerships organise and set in motion an evolving chain of sequential socio-technical practices, which incrementally generate technical change. Hence, partnerships are more than just an organisational tool for resource augmentation. Making partnerships work requires constant handling of the politics of selection procedures, the unanticipated consequences of material and technical problems, and the governance and control dimensions of team and group work. The study highlights the often hidden processes coordinating distributed skills and competences and the micro-politics of selection and performance as core elements for making partnerships work. The technographic approach made this visible in the performance of research teams, laboratories and collectively managed nurseries of multiplication sites. The study concludes that partnerships, as an organisational fix, are not a panacea for complicated problems, and a more thorough debate about the conditions under which partnerships may work – and for whom – is needed.

In Kenya, bananas and Irish potatoes are important staple crops. In the early 1990s, the crops were devastated by plant diseases resulting in immensely declined productivity and vulnerability of smallholder farmers. To address this problem, disease resistant varieties and tissue culture technology were introduced through partnerships. This thesis examines the working of these partnerships in the process of selecting, multiplying and disseminating improved planting materials under changeable and sometimes unanticipated social and material conditions, and whether this enabled technical change. The study describes how partnerships shape and manage technical change and how distributed task groups coordinate their actions. Partnerships organise and set in motion an evolving chain of sequential socio-technical practices, which incrementally generate technical change. Hence, partnerships are more than just an organisational tool for resource augmentation. Making partnerships work requires constant handling of the politics of selection procedures, the unanticipated consequences of material and technical problems, and the governance and control dimensions of team and group work. The study highlights the often hidden processes coordinating distributed skills and competences and the micro-politics of selection and performance as core elements for making partnerships work. The technographic approach made this visible in the performance of research teams, laboratories and collectively managed nurseries of multiplication sites. The study concludes that partnerships, as an organisational fix, are not a panacea for complicated problems, and a more thorough debate about the conditions under which partnerships may work – and for whom – is needed.

Keywords: Smallholder poor farmers, market access, bananas, productivity, efficiency, labour demand, labour supply,Uganda.This study investigates the effects of factor and commodity markets on the development of the banana sub-sector in central and southwesternUganda.The study analyses smallholder household response to production constraints (crop pests and diseases, soil constraints) and development of product markets and off-farm employment opportunities.The study was carried out in central region, Masaka and southwest, which have divergent production constraints and opportunities.Various analytical tools were employed in this study.Cost benefit analysis was used to assess the competitiveness of banana production versus other crop enterprises.The stochastic production frontier was used to analyze the technical and productive efficiency of banana farmers.Production functions were estimated for the important crops to analyze the allocative efficiency of farmers in each study region.Finally, labour supply and demand functions were estimated to determine the factors that influence labour allocation decisions and to assess the farmers' response to changes in economic conditions.A multinomial logit model was fitted to identify factors that influence farmers' labour supply decisions between farm and off-farm work.Results for the cost benefit analysis show that banana is the most profitable of all the crops grown, in terms of gross margin.However, imperfections in labour and food markets cause farmers in the central region to allocate more land and labour to the less profitable annual crops (sweet potatoes, maize and cassava) but are more satisfying in terms of household food requirements.High food prices and limitations in access to the off-farm labour market induce farmers to rely on own farm production for their household food needs.Results from the technical efficiency analysis show that banana farmers in Uganda are technically inefficient, and output can be increased by 30 in the southwest and 58% in the central region.Improved roads, formal education and access to credit are some of the factors that improve technical efficiency.Agricultural extension visits significantly increases banana productivity in the southwest.Results confirm that pest (banana weevil) and disease (Sigatoka) infestation contribute to the low banana production in the central region.Farm size is positively related to farm productivity.However, production is more efficient on smaller plots (decreasing returns to scale).The low productivity on small farms puts to question the sustainability of smallholder agriculture, given the imperfections in labour and food markets and limited access to purchased inputs.Analysis of the marginal products of labour shows that farmers are allocatively inefficient and production and consumption decisions are nonseparable.Findings from labour supply analysis show that farmers respond positively to changes in shadow wage rates and negatively to changes in shadow income.This implies that the farmers are responsive to economic incentives.Access to off-farm opportunities takes away the most productive labour from farm production.Thus improved road access and high wage rates are associated with lower farm labour productivity and lower labour supply.Education and road access have a positive effect on time allocated to off-farm activities while farm size is negatively related to work hours in off-farm activities.The study reveals that policies that promote income diversification into off-farm activities can contribute to sustained development in the rural sector.In particular, policies that reduce transaction costs are likely to improve productivity and efficiency in both the off-farm sector and farm sector.Investment in road infrastructure, education and financial institutions that are suited to smallholder production needs could help in alleviating the bottlenecks in the labour, food and financial markets, and improve resource allocation between the farm and nonfarm sectors.

Keywords: Smallholder poor farmers, market access, bananas, productivity, efficiency, labour demand, labour supply,Uganda.This study investigates the effects of factor and commodity markets on the development of the banana sub-sector in central and southwesternUganda.The study analyses smallholder household response to production constraints (crop pests and diseases, soil constraints) and development of product markets and off-farm employment opportunities.The study was carried out in central region, Masaka and southwest, which have divergent production constraints and opportunities.Various analytical tools were employed in this study.Cost benefit analysis was used to assess the competitiveness of banana production versus other crop enterprises.The stochastic production frontier was used to analyze the technical and productive efficiency of banana farmers.Production functions were estimated for the important crops to analyze the allocative efficiency of farmers in each study region.Finally, labour supply and demand functions were estimated to determine the factors that influence labour allocation decisions and to assess the farmers' response to changes in economic conditions.A multinomial logit model was fitted to identify factors that influence farmers' labour supply decisions between farm and off-farm work.Results for the cost benefit analysis show that banana is the most profitable of all the crops grown, in terms of gross margin.However, imperfections in labour and food markets cause farmers in the central region to allocate more land and labour to the less profitable annual crops (sweet potatoes, maize and cassava) but are more satisfying in terms of household food requirements.High food prices and limitations in access to the off-farm labour market induce farmers to rely on own farm production for their household food needs.Results from the technical efficiency analysis show that banana farmers in Uganda are technically inefficient, and output can be increased by 30 in the southwest and 58% in the central region.Improved roads, formal education and access to credit are some of the factors that improve technical efficiency.Agricultural extension visits significantly increases banana productivity in the southwest.Results confirm that pest (banana weevil) and disease (Sigatoka) infestation contribute to the low banana production in the central region.Farm size is positively related to farm productivity.However, production is more efficient on smaller plots (decreasing returns to scale).The low productivity on small farms puts to question the sustainability of smallholder agriculture, given the imperfections in labour and food markets and limited access to purchased inputs.Analysis of the marginal products of labour shows that farmers are allocatively inefficient and production and consumption decisions are nonseparable.Findings from labour supply analysis show that farmers respond positively to changes in shadow wage rates and negatively to changes in shadow income.This implies that the farmers are responsive to economic incentives.Access to off-farm opportunities takes away the most productive labour from farm production.Thus improved road access and high wage rates are associated with lower farm labour productivity and lower labour supply.Education and road access have a positive effect on time allocated to off-farm activities while farm size is negatively related to work hours in off-farm activities.The study reveals that policies that promote income diversification into off-farm activities can contribute to sustained development in the rural sector.In particular, policies that reduce transaction costs are likely to improve productivity and efficiency in both the off-farm sector and farm sector.Investment in road infrastructure, education and financial institutions that are suited to smallholder production needs could help in alleviating the bottlenecks in the labour, food and financial markets, and improve resource allocation between the farm and nonfarm sectors.

This report describes the regulation and control of quality of product and process in a selection of cross-border agro-based supply chains. The factual presentation reveals the specific nature of regulation in a product group. It also provides a basis for comparing the modes of regulation and informs a discussion on horizontal policy and strategy issues. The review of the presented material identifies a number of issues helping to identify crossproduct dimensions of regulation and the epilogue elaborates on the continuum between regulation based in public interests and regulation based in particular private interests.

This report describes the regulation and control of quality of product and process in a selection of cross-border agro-based supply chains. The factual presentation reveals the specific nature of regulation in a product group. It also provides a basis for comparing the modes of regulation and informs a discussion on horizontal policy and strategy issues. The review of the presented material identifies a number of issues helping to identify crossproduct dimensions of regulation and the epilogue elaborates on the continuum between regulation based in public interests and regulation based in particular private interests.

Plantain is a cooking banana (Musa spp. AAB group (Musaceae)) that is grown as a major food crop in many parts of Africa, especially in the Central-African and West-African rain forest areas. The crop originated in Asia, but its greatest diversity is to be found in Africa.We are dealing here with an interspecific, triploid hybrid of Musa balbisiana and one or more sub-species of M. acuminata, with the genome formula AAB. The plant is sterile and can only be multiplied clonally, which is why breeding is difficult. Knowledge about the genetic background of the crop, however, is very important because once the parental sub-species are identified, these can be used in breeding.There are still many gaps in our knowledge about the history of plantain, both in Asia and in Africa. It is only fragmentarily known how, where and when the plant came into existence, when, whence and by whom it was brought to Africa and how it spread and diversified in this continent.Musa plants do not leave archaeological traces behind and historical sources are scarce. We only have present-day material at our disposal, i.e. cultivars and vernacular names, the nature, distribution and spread of which may give us clues about the history of the crop in the African continent.In doing so, we have to take into account other plants that are closely related to musa, or that have similar morphological features and/or uses, and therefore possess similar names in African languages. We also have to take into account the ecological conditions in those parts of the continent where plantain is grown, as well as the economies and (cultural) histories of the people cultivating plantain.A more technical problem is formed by the classification and nomenclature of plantain cultivars. Until now this problem has not been satisfactorily solved, and suggestions to this end are therefore presented in this study.This study is also meant to be an exploration into the possibilities of a multi-disciplinary approach to crop history. Ultimately, a better understanding of the historical background of crops might serve other disciplines too; in the first place, but not uniquely, plant breeding, plant taxonomy, ((agri)cultural) history and ethnobotany.

Plantain is a cooking banana (Musa spp. AAB group (Musaceae)) that is grown as a major food crop in many parts of Africa, especially in the Central-African and West-African rain forest areas. The crop originated in Asia, but its greatest diversity is to be found in Africa.We are dealing here with an interspecific, triploid hybrid of Musa balbisiana and one or more sub-species of M. acuminata, with the genome formula AAB. The plant is sterile and can only be multiplied clonally, which is why breeding is difficult. Knowledge about the genetic background of the crop, however, is very important because once the parental sub-species are identified, these can be used in breeding.There are still many gaps in our knowledge about the history of plantain, both in Asia and in Africa. It is only fragmentarily known how, where and when the plant came into existence, when, whence and by whom it was brought to Africa and how it spread and diversified in this continent.Musa plants do not leave archaeological traces behind and historical sources are scarce. We only have present-day material at our disposal, i.e. cultivars and vernacular names, the nature, distribution and spread of which may give us clues about the history of the crop in the African continent.In doing so, we have to take into account other plants that are closely related to musa, or that have similar morphological features and/or uses, and therefore possess similar names in African languages. We also have to take into account the ecological conditions in those parts of the continent where plantain is grown, as well as the economies and (cultural) histories of the people cultivating plantain.A more technical problem is formed by the classification and nomenclature of plantain cultivars. Until now this problem has not been satisfactorily solved, and suggestions to this end are therefore presented in this study.This study is also meant to be an exploration into the possibilities of a multi-disciplinary approach to crop history. Ultimately, a better understanding of the historical background of crops might serve other disciplines too; in the first place, but not uniquely, plant breeding, plant taxonomy, ((agri)cultural) history and ethnobotany.