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Banana is an important commercial fruit crop for smallholder farmers in Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia. However, its sector is experiencing many constraints and limited attention given to productivity and marketing. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the banana value chain in order to identify constraints on productivity and marketing, and possibilities of improvements towards a sustainable value chain in Arba Minch. Data were collected through a survey, key informants’ interviews, and focus group discussions. Different analytical and statistical tools were used for data analysis. Results describe actors, supporters, and influencers of the existing banana chain. The current banana chain has three different distribution channels in Arba Minch. The channel that connects with rural consumers has the highest value share for farmers while the channel that includes traveling traders has the lowest value share for farmers. The marketing cooperative channel has an intermediate value share for farmers in the chain. Poor agronomic practice, diseases, pests, and climate change were the major constraints for the banana yield while limited market information, lack of cold store and refrigerated trucks, poor post-harvest handling, lack of alternative markets, and weak capacity of cooperatives were the main constraints for banana marketing in Arba Minch. Economic, social and environmental indicators have a moderate sustainability performance within the Ethiopian context. The chain has an advantage in terms of profitability, employment, emission of air pollutants and constraints in terms of coordination, value share, profit margin, market diversity, product and market information, transportation, waste management, and safety and hygiene.

Banana is an important commercial fruit crop for smallholder farmers in Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia. However, its sector is experiencing many constraints and limited attention given to productivity and marketing. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the banana value chain in order to identify constraints on productivity and marketing, and possibilities of improvements towards a sustainable value chain in Arba Minch. Data were collected through a survey, key informants’ interviews, and focus group discussions. Different analytical and statistical tools were used for data analysis. Results describe actors, supporters, and influencers of the existing banana chain. The current banana chain has three different distribution channels in Arba Minch. The channel that connects with rural consumers has the highest value share for farmers while the channel that includes traveling traders has the lowest value share for farmers. The marketing cooperative channel has an intermediate value share for farmers in the chain. Poor agronomic practice, diseases, pests, and climate change were the major constraints for the banana yield while limited market information, lack of cold store and refrigerated trucks, poor post-harvest handling, lack of alternative markets, and weak capacity of cooperatives were the main constraints for banana marketing in Arba Minch. Economic, social and environmental indicators have a moderate sustainability performance within the Ethiopian context. The chain has an advantage in terms of profitability, employment, emission of air pollutants and constraints in terms of coordination, value share, profit margin, market diversity, product and market information, transportation, waste management, and safety and hygiene.

The emergence of Panama disease Tropical Race 4 (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense) or TR4 – a fungal disease in banana that is considered by horticulture experts as not only one of the most destructive diseases in the world (Ploetz 1994) but one with no on-hand socio-cultural or chemical method to control it satisfactorily (Ploetz 2015) – has generated conversations, dialogue, inquiry and at times controversy, on how this risk is to be managed. The onslaught of Tropical Race 1 (TR1) in the 1900s, destroying many banana plantations in Latin America and the Caribbean, provided a lens by which the political economy of Latin America can be examined. Much, however, has changed in global political economy configurations between the 1900s and today. Confronted once more with the disease in contemporary settings, we are provided with an opportunity, and a context within which, to reflect on the ways by which societies, governments and peoples work to address the disease and mitigate its threats in a new time-space constellation. The rise of globalisation and the neoliberal model have ushered in profound changes within the last three decades – changes that have driven social and political processes on multiple scales of governance, and have influenced relationships, behaviours, ways of life and perceptions. This research, therefore, asks the central question: Do features of neoliberal governance influence risk perceptions and decision-making on Panama disease, and if so, in what ways? This research draws from political ecology as a framework to analyse how political and economic relationships impact on people’s understandings of risk in the context of a phenomenon that has ecological or bio-physical roots. At the heart of the thesis lies the central matter of risk politics: that risk decisions – focusing in particular on what risks matter, who decides, who should be exposed to what, and to what degree – are both an effect of power and an exercise of power. The thesis is based on a multi-site and multi-scale study consisting of two in-depth case studies – one conducted in the Philippines, the other in Australia – alongside expert interviews conducted in Kampala (Uganda), Rome (Italy), Wageningen (the Netherlands) and Florida (USA). The research is multi-scale in that three different scales of interaction are examined: at the global scale, as situated in the discourse and practice of international governing bodies; at the national scale, by studying the rules and laws in countries which have had experience of Panama disease, and by examining how biosecurity responses have been shaped in the context of a national policy of privatised agriculture; and at the local scale, where agrarian dynamics between small-holder farmers and large corporations are studied. The research is designed not to compare contexts with each other, but to provide illustrative snapshots of the many ways that risk can be shaped by its social milieu. The first Chapter of this dissertation looks at how the risk of Panama disease is evaluated by international regulatory bodies and actors in global governance networks such as the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) within the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and examines the contestations that underlie the question of whether or not Panama disease control and management constitute a Global Public Good. It has been found with clarity that adherence to free trade principles influence and constrain the ways by which international organizations perceive the risk of, and how they address, this transnational plant disease. The second Chapter, based on field work in the southern part of the Philippines where a Panama disease infestation has been confirmed and where social relations in rural livelihoods are characterized by a contentious agrarian history, investigates how asymmetric binary relationships between the social actors in a contract growership arrangement -- specifically large banana corporations and smallholder farmers -- influence the possibilities and limitations of disease control. The third Chapter demonstrates, using the example of Australia, important limitations in the neoliberal ‘user-pays’ model in its ability to address emergency plant disease outbreaks, particularly when swift rule-making and rule-enforcing powers of the state are necessary. While the shared responsibility approach can keep the wheels grinding in a business-as-usual context, within a rapidly-evolving epidemiological emergency, the terms of engagement between government and industry need to be recast. The fourth Chapter examines the issue of genetic modification – bannered by some scientists as the only or at least the most plausible solution to the urgent problem of Panama disease – and the current state of the global regulatory framework on bio-safety. Developing countries with confirmed Panama disease infestations (Philippines, Indonesia, Jordan, Mozambique and Pakistan) were used as units of analysis. Using tools of legal text analysis, a comparison is made between the National Reports of the countries to the Bio-Safety Clearing House of the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety and international commitments to the IPPC, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Cartagena Protocol. This chapter challenges the notion of a ‘uniform science’ and finds that while individual countries ostensibly accept that science, or scientific knowledge, can be used as a unifying framework to consolidate multiple appreciations of risk and divergent approaches in addressing and confronting it, a perusal of their domestic legislation shows contradictions between what was committed in international platforms, and what is implemented domestically. Contrary to the purely scientific standards upheld by the IPPC and the WTO, socio-economic risks and cultural considerations have been found within domestic legislation. Drawing from these chapters, this research proposes that neoliberalism influences Panama disease strategies in at least three ways: one, through the organisation and harmonisation of systems of behaviour, practices and legislation; two, through the promotion of its narratives and the marginalisation of counter-narratives; and three, through the endorsement of tools that support its agenda. Firstly, neoliberalism organises and harmonises systems of behaviour, practices and legislation so that it conforms with its own logic and processes. An intuitive abhorrence of protectionism results in the perception that plant health measures that may result in trade barriers are inherently suspect, and thus should be avoided, except in the most exigent of circumstances. The international regulatory system has been substantially re-written so that even collective action becomes increasingly hard to be mobilized, and that international support cannot be activated without the imprimatur of the International Plant Protection Convention, given fears that such action might constitute the basis for future trade restriction. Through adherence to neoliberal principles, the global system has been in effect re-engineered in such a way as to limit the latitude and capacity of countries to identify and designate what they believe to be a risk, as a pluralistic interpretation of risk can be defined as constituting protectionism. Science and scientific knowledge are deployed not in furtherance of the wider considerations of plant health, but to ensure that considerations of plant health keep ‘within limits’ and do not cross over to impinge on borderless international trade. Secondly, neoliberalism influences plant disease strategies through the propagation of a dominant narrative that protects its interests and the marginalization of counter-narratives that challenge its own dominant narrative. A narrative that blames smallholder farmers for Panama disease reinforces the trope on the unsustainability of smallholder agriculture and the lack of capacity of smallholder farmers. In contrast, a narrative that blames large companies or corporations for the spread of the disease is one that challenges the wisdom of corporate agriculture, and one that may have the consequence of state regulation of corporations, which contradicts the ideological core of neoliberalism: that the market must remain unhampered and unencumbered by strong state intervention. Thirdly, neoliberalism influences Panama disease measures through the endorsement of tools against the disease that are consistent with its agenda. The research surfaces the aggressive promotion of biotechnology as the only solution – or the ‘silver bullet’ to the possible extermination of Cavendish bananas because of Panama disease, and the endorsement of a biotechnology-permissive global regulatory regime. Neoliberalism did not create Panama disease, nor are proponents of genetic modification always driven by market compulsions, but neoliberal globalism has been shown, for instance through predatory patenting schemes, to reinforce and exacerbate the tendencies of the ‘biotechnology revolution’ to cause social polarisation. In sum, neoliberalism influences Panama disease strategies by framing risk – by managing and controlling how the risk of Panama disease is perceived, measured and decided upon by social actors. Its framing of risk is negotiable, malleable and contingent on what the system needs at a given time. This research concludes that neoliberalism has the effect of instrumentalising risk by deploying it as a tool that is used to protect the dominance of its ideology. The framing of risk – the answers to the fundamental questions of what risks matter, who decides, who should be exposed to what, and to what degree – is, indeed, an exercise of power. But at the same time, it is done to protect accumulated power, and in the course of this research, I strove to demonstrate, using the example of Panama disease, the precise ways by which neoliberalism has exercised its power in multiple levels of governance and within social relations of production to frame plant disease risk to its strategic advantage. The urgent imperative, therefore, is to continue asserting a global counter-narrative: one that pushes plant disease protection as a global public good, one that speaks to heterogeneous understandings of risk and does not require a uniform notion of science to confer legitimacy to varying standards of protection and, most importantly, one that puts the marginalised and the disproportionate risk burdens that they bear at the centre of the discourse.

Pseudocercospora fijiensis causes black Sigatoka disease of banana. It is one of the most damaging threats of the crop requiring excessive fungicide applications for disease control as the major export “Cavendish” clones are highly susceptible. The consequence of this practice is the reduced efficacy of disease management strategies due to increasing levels of fungicide resistance. In this thesis the history and current practices of black Sigatoka disease management as well as the underlying mechanisms of fungicide resistance to a major group of fungicides are described. We discovered that both target site mutations and promotor insertions are crucial for modulating sensitivity. The more insertions, the higher the expression of the gene and the more resistant the strain. Using this information, we advocate modern monitoring techniques and improved disease control strategies as well as the urgent need for innovative banana breeding to develop resistant varieties for a sustainable global banana production.

Evidence is needed about the difference that certification makes to workers on banana plantations. The Fairtrade system is therefore investing in monitoring to understand the difference certification makes to banana workers’ employment, living and working conditions, and empowerment. This study meets this need by gathering data on a range of indicators. This study 1) gathers baseline data on indicators and themes that monitor the progress of implementation of Fairtrade’s revised hired labour standards on certified plantations in key banana origins; 2) based on this data it researches and analyses the difference that Fairtrade makes across key themes in comparison to non-certified contexts; it prioritises workers’ voices and perspectives in achieving the objectives of the study. It particularly focuses on understanding the role of Fairtrade in supporting worker empowerment and empowerment-related goals. Focus countries are Ghana, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

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.

This article deals with: Bananas: their origin and global rollout; genetic diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, the causal agent of Panama Disease; Panama Disease: history repeats itself; tropical race 4, a single pathogen clone, threatens global banana production; strategies for sustainable Panama Disease management.

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.

Applied Plant Research in Lelystad has, commissioned by Gert Kema, Plant Research International (PRI) and leader of the Panama Project, performed a trial to measure the efficacy of anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) with a ‘Herbie” product against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc; TR 4), causing panama disease in bananas. The inoculum of conidiospores was provided by (PRI) at Wageningen. Also sand and clay soil were provided by PRI; two weeks before the experiment. After ASD the efficacy against Foc was also determined by PRI with a developed diagnostic tool (component of INREF Panama Project 3)

Applied Plant Research in Lelystad has, commissioned by Gert Kema, Plant Research International (PRI) and leader of the Panama Project, performed a trial to measure the efficacy of anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) with a ‘Herbie” product against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc; TR 4), causing panama disease in bananas. The inoculum of conidiospores was provided by (PRI) at Wageningen. Also sand and clay soil were provided by PRI; two weeks before the experiment. After ASD the efficacy against Foc was also determined by PRI with a developed diagnostic tool (component of INREF Panama Project 3)

Voor de pallets om bananen te vervoeren is geen boskap meer nodig. Van bananenbomen zijn ook prima transportpallets te maken.

Voor de pallets om bananen te vervoeren is geen boskap meer nodig. Van bananenbomen zijn ook prima transportpallets te maken.

Banana plants are being inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum V5w2 and Beauveria bassiana G41 for endophytic control of pests. The effects of F. oxysporum V5w2 and B. bassiana G41, soil sterility, fertilizer, and mulching, on Cosmopolites sordidus and Radopholus similis in banana plants, are investigated. Cosmopolites sordidus has low preference for plants inoculated with the two endophytes; corm damage is low on F. oxysporum V5w2-treated plants. High root damage and growth suppression are evident in R. similis-treated plants. Under N-deficiency, R. similis-treated plants are larger than those without the nematode. Compared to plants treated with complete nutrient solution (CNS), those under P-deficiency have higher root damage, but lower under K-deficiency, and not different under N-deficiency and when only water was applied. Plants under CNS have lower R. similis density than those under N-deficiency and those treated with water only. Also, C. sordidus larvae from plants under CNS are smaller than those given only water. Under N-deficiency and supply of only water, potted plants in non-sterile soil are smaller than those from sterile soil, but are larger under CNS, P or K-deficiencies when N is present. Radopholus similis densities are lower in roots from non-sterile soil, compared to those from sterile soil. Mulched plants are larger with bigger bunches than those without mulch, but are more prone to toppling when R. similis is present. Plants treated with F. oxysporum V5w2 have lower R. similis density under N-deficiency but higher under P-deficiency, and are smaller in size under K-deficiency, than endophyte-free ones. Fusarium oxysporum V5w2-treated plants are small and take short time to harvest. With mulch, R. similis-induced toppling is less in F. oxysporum V5w2-treated plants, possibly due to their smaller size during growth. In conclusion, data on the effect of nutrients, soil microorganisms and mulching do not support the transfer of F. oxysporum V5w2-treated banana plants to farmers, because the plants suffer from reduced performance. Understanding endophytic mechanisms of action and establishing successful inoculation is necessary for drawing a final valid conclusion.

Mycosphaerella fijiensis, M. musicola en M. eumusae veroorzaken de Sigatoka-ziekte in banaan. Op dit moment is de toepassing van fungiciden de enige optie om deze ziekte te bestrijden. Het PRPB (Pesticide Reduction Program for Banana) investeert in de ontwikkeling van technieken voor de genotype- en fenotypebepaling van M. fijiensis. Hierbij wordt gebruikt gemaakt van ATMT (Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation).

Agriculture is the mainstay for the great majority of rural people in most African countries and is essential for poverty reduction and food security. The role of agriculture towards poverty reduction, however, has not been realized in Africa, despite advances in development of technologies such as improved varieties suitable to local conditions and resistant to pests, diseases and droughts stresses. Plant breeding using modern biotechnology and genetic modification in particular has the potential of speeding-up crop improvement. However, the central issue in agricultural biotechnology particularly in Africa is to achieve a functional biosafety system to ensure that a country has the capacity to assess risks that may be associated with modern biotechnology. Several countries have designed and implemented policies to address the safety concerns of consumers and producers, including environment and food safety. One of the requirements, as proposed in Article 2 of the Cartagena Protocol, is the inclusion of socioeconomic considerations in the biosafety assessment process. Many developing countries, including Uganda, have not determined whether and how to include socioeconomic considerations. Specifically, at what stage of the regulatory process should they be included, the involved scope, as well as the nature of the decision-making process within the biosafety regulations. The aim of my thesis is to examine potential social welfare impacts of introducing a GM banana in order to illustrate the relevance of socioeconomic analyses for supporting biotechnology decision-making and in particular the importance of consumer perceptions but also for contributing to the development and implementation of biosafety regulations. I present a general approach using GM banana as an example, while assuming the GM banana has passed standard food and biosafety safety assessments, i.e. can be considered to be safe. I explore the benefit-cost trade-offs of its introduction and the farmers’ and consumers’ willingness to pay for the technology and the end product. In the study I present a framework for considering concerns about genetically modified crops within a socioeconomic analysis of GM crops, using real options and choice experiment approaches. The approaches relate the economic benefits to consumers’ concerns. The results show that the introduction of GM bananas would be desirable for the Ugandan society as a whole, mainly benefit poor rural households and would merit policy support. Nevertheless, if such a GM banana is introduced its introduction may result in strong opposition from the opponent segment of the population, which is composed of mainly urban consumers with an on average higher education and income. Interestingly and in contradiction to common wisdom only providing additional information about the technology and its safety will not result in higher acceptance. Based on this case study biosafety regulators would need to consider these socioeconomic effects before a decision to introduce a GM banana is made. However, the decision to consider socioeconomic impacts for other GM crops elsewhere depends on the crop and the country. The research methodology in this thesis provides the basis for assessing other GM crops as well.

Agriculture is the mainstay for the great majority of rural people in most African countries and is essential for poverty reduction and food security. The role of agriculture towards poverty reduction, however, has not been realized in Africa, despite advances in development of technologies such as improved varieties suitable to local conditions and resistant to pests, diseases and droughts stresses. Plant breeding using modern biotechnology and genetic modification in particular has the potential of speeding-up crop improvement. However, the central issue in agricultural biotechnology particularly in Africa is to achieve a functional biosafety system to ensure that a country has the capacity to assess risks that may be associated with modern biotechnology. Several countries have designed and implemented policies to address the safety concerns of consumers and producers, including environment and food safety. One of the requirements, as proposed in Article 2 of the Cartagena Protocol, is the inclusion of socioeconomic considerations in the biosafety assessment process. Many developing countries, including Uganda, have not determined whether and how to include socioeconomic considerations. Specifically, at what stage of the regulatory process should they be included, the involved scope, as well as the nature of the decision-making process within the biosafety regulations. The aim of my thesis is to examine potential social welfare impacts of introducing a GM banana in order to illustrate the relevance of socioeconomic analyses for supporting biotechnology decision-making and in particular the importance of consumer perceptions but also for contributing to the development and implementation of biosafety regulations. I present a general approach using GM banana as an example, while assuming the GM banana has passed standard food and biosafety safety assessments, i.e. can be considered to be safe. I explore the benefit-cost trade-offs of its introduction and the farmers’ and consumers’ willingness to pay for the technology and the end product. In the study I present a framework for considering concerns about genetically modified crops within a socioeconomic analysis of GM crops, using real options and choice experiment approaches. The approaches relate the economic benefits to consumers’ concerns. The results show that the introduction of GM bananas would be desirable for the Ugandan society as a whole, mainly benefit poor rural households and would merit policy support. Nevertheless, if such a GM banana is introduced its introduction may result in strong opposition from the opponent segment of the population, which is composed of mainly urban consumers with an on average higher education and income. Interestingly and in contradiction to common wisdom only providing additional information about the technology and its safety will not result in higher acceptance. Based on this case study biosafety regulators would need to consider these socioeconomic effects before a decision to introduce a GM banana is made. However, the decision to consider socioeconomic impacts for other GM crops elsewhere depends on the crop and the country. The research methodology in this thesis provides the basis for assessing other GM crops as well.

Key words: leaf area; radiation interception; QUEFTS model; fertilizer recovery fractions; nutrient mass fractions; crop growth; calibration; validation; radiation use efficiency; sensitivity analysis East Africa Highland banana yields on smallholder farms in the Great Lakes region are small (11−26 Mg ha−1 cycle−1 in Uganda, 21−43 Mg ha−1 cycle−1 in Burundi and 25−53 Mg ha−1 cycle−1 in Rwanda). The major causes of poor yields are declining soil fertility and soil moisture stress. In order to improve production, knowledge on highland banana physiology, growth patterns and response to fertilization is important, to establish the potential yield of the crop, to quantify the yield gaps between potential and actual yield, and to explore options for closing the yield gaps. Measurements of plant morphological characteristics, radiation interception and biomass (by destructive harvesting) were taken in experimental fields in central and southwest Uganda. Results showed that total leaf area can be estimated by using height and girth (used to estimate middle leaf area) and number of functional leaves. The light extinction coefficient, k determined from photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurements over the entire day was 0.7. Banana plants partitioned more dry matter (DM) to the leaves during first phase of vegetative growth, with the pseudostem becoming the dominant sink later with 58% of total DM at flowering, and the bunch at harvest with 53% of the total DM. Changes in dry matter partitioning influenced the allometric relationships between above-ground biomass (AGB in kg DM) and girth (cm), the relationship following a power function during the vegetative phase (AGB = 0.0001 (girth)2.35), and exponential functions at flowering (AGB = 0.325 e0.036 (girth)) and at harvest (AGB = 0.069 e0.068 (girth)). This thesis shows that allometric relationships can be derived and used to estimate biomass and bunch weights. In fertilizer trials, yield increases above the control (13.0 Mg ha−1 yr−1) ranged from 2.2−11.2 Mg ha−1 yr−1 at Kawanda, to more than double at Ntungamo, 7.0−29.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (control 7.9 Mg ha−1 yr−1). The limiting nutrients at both sites were in the order K>P>N. Differences in soil moisture availability and texture resulted in higher yields and total nutrient uptakes (K>N>P) at Ntungamo, compared with Kawanda. Per unit dry matter yield, highland bananas take up a similar amount of N (49.2 kg finger DM kg−1 N), half the amount of P (587 kg finger DM kg−1 P), and five times the amount of K (10.8 kg finger DM kg−1 K), when compared with cereal grain. Calibration results of the static nutrient response model QUEFTS using data from Ntungamo were fair (R2 = 0.57, RMSE = 648 kg ha−1). The calibrated QUEFTS model predicted yields well using data from Mbarara southwest Uganda (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 562 kg ha−1). A new dynamic radiation and temperature-driven growth model, LINTUL BANANA 1 was developed to the compute potential yields of East Africa highland banana. The model considers (i) the physiology of the highland banana crop; (ii) the plant dynamics (i.e. three plant generations, Plant 1, 2 and 3 at different stages of growth constituting a mat); and (iii) three canopy levels formed by the leaves of the three plants. Average computed potential bunch dry and fresh matter were slightly higher at Ntungamo (20 Mg ha−1 DW; 111 Mg ha−1 FW), compared with Kawanda (18.25 Mg ha−1 DW; 100 Mg ha−1 FW), and values compared well with banana yields under optimal situations at comparable leaf area index values (20.3 Mg ha−1 DW; 113 Mg ha−1 FW). Sensitivity analysis was done to assess the effects of changes in parameters (light use efficiency, LUE; the light extinction coefficient, k; specific leaf area, SLA; the relative death rate of leaves, rd; relative growth rate of leaf area, RGRL; and the initial dry matter values) on bunch dry matter, leaf dry matter and leaf area index (L) at flowering. Sensitivity results for Kawanda and Ntungamo showed that changes in LUE1 resulted in more than proportional increase in bunch DM (1.30 and 1.36), a higher leaf DM (0.60 and 0.67) and L at flowering (0.60 and 0.67). Changes in rd1 values reduced bunch dry matter, leaf dry matter and L at flowering. Changes in SLA1 reduced only leaf DM, whereas both leaf DM and L at flowering were reduced by changes in k1 at both sites. Initial dry matter values had a small effect (sensitivity < 0.0263) for bunch DM, leaf DM and L at flowering. Based on the model results, it is clear that the potential yield of East Africa highland bananas is more than 18 Mg ha−1 DW. Management options that increase LUE and reduce the relative death rate of leaves, and improvements in parameters related to light interception (SLA and k) are important to increase yield.

The research was carried out among banana-farming households in the districts of Masaka and Kabarole in Uganda. A gendered livelihood approach was used. The research focused on the identification of critical factors that need to be taken into consideration in the development of relevant policies for HIV/AIDS-affected agriculture-based households or those that are at risk. The book shows that HIV/AIDS causes significant negative effects on the lives of those affected and their resources due to HIV/AIDS-related labour loss and asset-eroding effects and disinvestment in production and child education. While in the overwhelming majority of the affected cases the effects of AIDS are negative and lead to increased impoverishment and vulnerability, for some households HIV/AIDS-related effects are manageable. It is concluded that a household’s socio-economic status and demographic characteristics influence the magnitude of HIV/AIDS-related impacts experienced and capacity to cope. The study also highlights some historically specific social practices, policies, and ideologies that continue to maintain or reproduce distinct forms of inequality, with certain social groups being marginalized and others being privileged. Unless these are redressed, they will continue to aggravate people’s vulnerability regardless of the type of shock that they are exposed to or experience.

Deze studie voor het Vlaamse ministerie van Landbouw en Visserij belicht de economische, sociale en ecologische gevolgen van agrarische handel van België met ontwikkelingslanden. Het onderzoek spitst zich toe op een vijftal producten (banaan, cacao, koffie, soja en thee) en vier ontwikkelingslanden (Brazilië, Costa Rica, Ivoorkust en Tanzania). Het oordeel over de mate van duurzaamheid wordt gebaseerd op de vier landenstudies, uitgevoerd door lokale onderzoekers, waarbij een beperkt aantal indicatoren is meegenomen. Naar voren komt dat met name de twee Latijns Amerikaanse landen negatieve ecologische gevolgen van handel (in soja en banaan) ondervinden, en dat in de Afrikaanse landen de negatieve sociaal-economische aspecten de meeste aandacht vragen. This study for the Flemish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries sheds light on the economic, social and ecological effects of Belgium's agricultural trade with developing countries. The study focuses on five products (bananas, cocoa, coffee, soya and tea) and four developing countries (Brazil, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania). The assessment of the level of sustainability is based on the four country studies, conducted by local researchers, and taking into account a limited number of indicators. It emerges that the two Latin American countries experience negative ecological effects of trade (in soya and bananas), and that in the African countries the negative social-economic aspects require most attention.

Deze studie voor het Vlaamse ministerie van Landbouw en Visserij belicht de economische, sociale en ecologische gevolgen van agrarische handel van België met ontwikkelingslanden. Het onderzoek spitst zich toe op een vijftal producten (banaan, cacao, koffie, soja en thee) en vier ontwikkelingslanden (Brazilië, Costa Rica, Ivoorkust en Tanzania). Het oordeel over de mate van duurzaamheid wordt gebaseerd op de vier landenstudies, uitgevoerd door lokale onderzoekers, waarbij een beperkt aantal indicatoren is meegenomen. Naar voren komt dat met name de twee Latijns Amerikaanse landen negatieve ecologische gevolgen van handel (in soja en banaan) ondervinden, en dat in de Afrikaanse landen de negatieve sociaal-economische aspecten de meeste aandacht vragen. This study for the Flemish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries sheds light on the economic, social and ecological effects of Belgium's agricultural trade with developing countries. The study focuses on five products (bananas, cocoa, coffee, soya and tea) and four developing countries (Brazil, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania). The assessment of the level of sustainability is based on the four country studies, conducted by local researchers, and taking into account a limited number of indicators. It emerges that the two Latin American countries experience negative ecological effects of trade (in soya and bananas), and that in the African countries the negative social-economic aspects require most attention.

The research was carried out among banana-farming households in the districts of Masaka and Kabarole in Uganda. A gendered livelihood approach was used. The research focused on the identification of critical factors that need to be taken into consideration in the development of relevant policies for HIV/AIDS-affected agriculture-based households or those that are at risk. The book shows that HIV/AIDS causes significant negative effects on the lives of those affected and their resources due to HIV/AIDS-related labour loss and asset-eroding effects and disinvestment in production and child education. While in the overwhelming majority of the affected cases the effects of AIDS are negative and lead to increased impoverishment and vulnerability, for some households HIV/AIDS-related effects are manageable. It is concluded that a household’s socio-economic status and demographic characteristics influence the magnitude of HIV/AIDS-related impacts experienced and capacity to cope. The study also highlights some historically specific social practices, policies, and ideologies that continue to maintain or reproduce distinct forms of inequality, with certain social groups being marginalized and others being privileged. Unless these are redressed, they will continue to aggravate people’s vulnerability regardless of the type of shock that they are exposed to or experience.

Agricultural technology is known to be a catalyst for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction through increases in food production and/or reduction in production costs. Various government policy and strategic documents emphasize the important role of the agricultural sector as the leading driver for development in Kenya. The recently launched Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS Republic of Kenya 2003) identifies the adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies and practices as one of the imperative themes that will generate the surplus needed to feed the increasing population and to propel economic growth. However, the role of agricultural technology in poverty reduction is currently being played out in an increasingly multifaceted environment, featuring the growing complexity of farming rural households' livelihood strategies and the effects of HIV/AIDS on household assets and livelihood strategies. The current challenge facing agricultural research in countries threatened by HIV/AIDS is to develop technologies that meet the evolving challenges of HIV/AIDS-affected farming households without compromising productivity and sustainability of their livelihoods.This study investigated the suitability of the tissue-cultured banana technology in rural farming households in Central Kenya in the context of HIV/AIDS. The study adopts a livelihood approach and provides detailed information on farming household assets and livelihood strategies. It examines the effects of HIV/AIDS on household assets and compares the consequent livelihood strategies undertaken in HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected farming households. The study evaluates in detail banana farming as one of the livelihood strategies and assesses the significance of the tissue-cultured banana technology for the livelihood of the farming households. The effects of HIV/AIDS on the local extension services and how this influences the adoption of tissue cultured-banana technology adoption is investigated. A gender perspective of access to assets, HIV/AIDS impacts, livelihood activities and outcomes is integrated. The sample population was selected on the basis of use or non-use of the tissue-cultured banana among banana farming households. Within each of these samples, both HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected households were selected. The data used in the analysis were collected through a mixed-method approach incorporating quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was collected through a formal survey whereas qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The study was conducted in Maragua district, which is a banana-growing region in Central Kenya where the tissue-cultured banana has been introduced. The study elaborates the following research questions:1. How do assets available to farming households influence their livelihood options, activities and outcomes?2. What are the impacts of HIV/AIDS on farming households' assets and consequently livelihood options, activities and outcomes?3. What is the role of the tissue-cultured banana in the livelihood activities and outcomes of farming households?Because farming households differ in their asset endowment, they undertake differing livelihood strategies and respond differently to both shocks and development interventions. To capture this heterogeneity, by means of factor and cluster analysis, a typology according to resource endowment was constructed yielding three types of farming households: low-, medium- and high-resource endowment farming households using factor and cluster analysis. The classification was based on households' asset endowment in terms of human capital (age, sex, education level of the household head and household size); natural capital (size of land); financial capital (savings and access to credit); physical capital (livestock, farm equipment and personal household item value); and social capital (membership in community organization).The low resource endowment category is composed of a high proportion of elderly (65+) female-headed households with a low level of education of the household head and a high demographic dependency ratio. Households in this category have small pieces of land inherited from their parents, and half of them have no title deeds for the land. The households have no access to formal credit and no savings. They have low physical capital in terms of livestock, farm equipment and household items. They are producing mainly for own consumption and earn extra income by selling their own labour in agricultural activities.The medium resource endowment group is composed almost entirely of male-headed households who have relative high education level. They have large pieces of land (on average>0.8 ha) with title deeds, have some savings and access to both formal and informal credit. They have more livestock, farm equipment and personal household items than the type one households. They mostly produce for own consumption and also for the market. They also earn extra income through formal and non-formal employment and are engaged in trading, service provision. They receive remittances from migrant household members.The high resource endowment farming households have of educated male household heads with large land size which is registered with title deeds. They have access to informal credit but do not have savings. They have the highest livestock and farm equipment value. The majority of households in this group do not take on other income diversification activities and are mostly engaged in production of banana for the market and maize and beans for home consumption. They have the largest proportion of migrants and receive more remittances than the other two categories of households.Generally, there is a high level of social capital in the study area as indicated by the large number of households involved in community organizations. The community groups existing in the area are: farming groups, rotating savings-and-credit associations (ROSCAs), burial societies, village committees, clan-based groups, religious groups and HIV/AIDS-associated groups. In general, households in medium and high resource endowment categories have higher number of household members engaged in groups than in the low resource endowment category. However, these groups may not necessarily lead to economic prosperity as most of them are homogenous and hardly connected to outside resources.Despite the differences in assets endowment among the farming households, no significant differences were observed in their incidence of HIV/AIDS. However, differences were observed in asset endowment and household characteristics between HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected farming households. Comparing affected and non- affected farming households showed that HIV/AIDS-affected households are mostly female-headed, have a significantly higher dependency ratio, and experience a greater shortage of labour despite their larger household size. Land sale, a commonly quoted strategy for household labour loss related to HIV/AIDS is rare in the study area. This is possibly due to cultural beliefs associated with land which deter the sale of ancestral land. Lack of transferability rights (as more than half of the households in sample population have no title deeds to their land) could also be a deterrence factor of land sale. Affected households have adopted various labour coping strategies such as labour re-allocation, hiring labour and bringing in relatives. Some affected households have stopped growing labour-intensive vegetable crops while some have altogether abandoned their land. To cater for the high direct and indirect costs, HIV/AIDS-affected households have various sources of income. These include borrowing from informal sources (ROSCAS, relatives and extended family members) and they also receive remittances from migrant household members. Membership in ROSCAS is crucial as it enables households to access informal credit. In addition to farming, HIV/AIDS-affected households have diversified income sources in the form of rent from land and they engage in labour migration.The adoption of tissue-cultured banana is positively related to financial and physical capitals. The high and medium resource endowment households that have financial capital in form of savings and access to credit are more likely to grow tissue-cultured banana. This is primarily because of the high cost of the tissue-cultured plantlets. Furthermore, the results suggest that affected households are most likely not to adopt the tissue-cultured banana technology. Thus, for the technology to benefit resource-poor farming households who constitute the majority of the sample population, efforts must be made to increase their access to financial capital or lower the cost of tissue-cultured plantlets.Increased farm output resulting from technology adoption is expected to result in various outcomes such as increased household food security, increased income through the sale of extra produce, and reinvestment into household activities. Both HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected households growing tissue-cultured banana reported an increase in banana production, income and food, which they attributed to the adoption of the technology. However, HIV/AIDS-affected reported higher increases in production, income and food supply as a result of growing tissue-cultured banana.Although the area extension services have not directly suffered the attrition caused by HIV/AIDS, they are lacking skills, finances and human capacity in providing appropriate services to farming households and in particular the HIV/AIDS-affected households. Not only will more extension workers be needed, but contents of extension services also need to change in order to be responsive to the AIDS epidemic. Extension services need to cater to the knowledge needs of women, the elderly and the young.Female-headed households were found to be disadvantaged in several ways. The majority of them are in the low resource endowment farming household category. Firstly, female household heads have significantly lower education level than male-headed households. Secondly, their financial capital base is also low because they have no savings and their access to informal credit provided by community organisation is limited, having few household members engaged in these groups. In addition, female-headed households have significantly lower physical capital in terms of household assets which they could sell and get cash in times of crisis. Slightly over half of the female-headed households are HIV/AIDS-affected. These households have a significantly higher dependency ratio and a higher incidence of labour shortage than non-affected households despite their larger size. Renting out of land a strategy undertaken by HIV/AIDS-affected households is not common in female-headed households due to lack of transferability rights. Some of the household members have therefore opted to migrate to urban areas in search of employment, a strategy that further puts the households at risk of HIV/AIDS.In conclusion, policy-makers and development agents targeting agricultural technology development for food security and poverty reduction should take into account the diversity of farming households. Farming household capabilities, assets and activities should play a major role in shaping policy on agricultural technology development. Labour-saving technologies may indeed be appropriate for many households, especially female-headed HIV/AID-affected households that lack cash for hiring labour. However, agricultural research should focus on developing low risk technologies in terms of financial requirement that can assure farming household food security, as well as cash income to pay for school fees and basic necessities.

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.

Agricultural technology is known to be a catalyst for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction through increases in food production and/or reduction in production costs. Various government policy and strategic documents emphasize the important role of the agricultural sector as the leading driver for development in Kenya. The recently launched Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS Republic of Kenya 2003) identifies the adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies and practices as one of the imperative themes that will generate the surplus needed to feed the increasing population and to propel economic growth. However, the role of agricultural technology in poverty reduction is currently being played out in an increasingly multifaceted environment, featuring the growing complexity of farming rural households' livelihood strategies and the effects of HIV/AIDS on household assets and livelihood strategies. The current challenge facing agricultural research in countries threatened by HIV/AIDS is to develop technologies that meet the evolving challenges of HIV/AIDS-affected farming households without compromising productivity and sustainability of their livelihoods.This study investigated the suitability of the tissue-cultured banana technology in rural farming households in Central Kenya in the context of HIV/AIDS. The study adopts a livelihood approach and provides detailed information on farming household assets and livelihood strategies. It examines the effects of HIV/AIDS on household assets and compares the consequent livelihood strategies undertaken in HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected farming households. The study evaluates in detail banana farming as one of the livelihood strategies and assesses the significance of the tissue-cultured banana technology for the livelihood of the farming households. The effects of HIV/AIDS on the local extension services and how this influences the adoption of tissue cultured-banana technology adoption is investigated. A gender perspective of access to assets, HIV/AIDS impacts, livelihood activities and outcomes is integrated. The sample population was selected on the basis of use or non-use of the tissue-cultured banana among banana farming households. Within each of these samples, both HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected households were selected. The data used in the analysis were collected through a mixed-method approach incorporating quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was collected through a formal survey whereas qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The study was conducted in Maragua district, which is a banana-growing region in Central Kenya where the tissue-cultured banana has been introduced. The study elaborates the following research questions:1. How do assets available to farming households influence their livelihood options, activities and outcomes?2. What are the impacts of HIV/AIDS on farming households' assets and consequently livelihood options, activities and outcomes?3. What is the role of the tissue-cultured banana in the livelihood activities and outcomes of farming households?Because farming households differ in their asset endowment, they undertake differing livelihood strategies and respond differently to both shocks and development interventions. To capture this heterogeneity, by means of factor and cluster analysis, a typology according to resource endowment was constructed yielding three types of farming households: low-, medium- and high-resource endowment farming households using factor and cluster analysis. The classification was based on households' asset endowment in terms of human capital (age, sex, education level of the household head and household size); natural capital (size of land); financial capital (savings and access to credit); physical capital (livestock, farm equipment and personal household item value); and social capital (membership in community organization).The low resource endowment category is composed of a high proportion of elderly (65+) female-headed households with a low level of education of the household head and a high demographic dependency ratio. Households in this category have small pieces of land inherited from their parents, and half of them have no title deeds for the land. The households have no access to formal credit and no savings. They have low physical capital in terms of livestock, farm equipment and household items. They are producing mainly for own consumption and earn extra income by selling their own labour in agricultural activities.The medium resource endowment group is composed almost entirely of male-headed households who have relative high education level. They have large pieces of land (on average>0.8 ha) with title deeds, have some savings and access to both formal and informal credit. They have more livestock, farm equipment and personal household items than the type one households. They mostly produce for own consumption and also for the market. They also earn extra income through formal and non-formal employment and are engaged in trading, service provision. They receive remittances from migrant household members.The high resource endowment farming households have of educated male household heads with large land size which is registered with title deeds. They have access to informal credit but do not have savings. They have the highest livestock and farm equipment value. The majority of households in this group do not take on other income diversification activities and are mostly engaged in production of banana for the market and maize and beans for home consumption. They have the largest proportion of migrants and receive more remittances than the other two categories of households.Generally, there is a high level of social capital in the study area as indicated by the large number of households involved in community organizations. The community groups existing in the area are: farming groups, rotating savings-and-credit associations (ROSCAs), burial societies, village committees, clan-based groups, religious groups and HIV/AIDS-associated groups. In general, households in medium and high resource endowment categories have higher number of household members engaged in groups than in the low resource endowment category. However, these groups may not necessarily lead to economic prosperity as most of them are homogenous and hardly connected to outside resources.Despite the differences in assets endowment among the farming households, no significant differences were observed in their incidence of HIV/AIDS. However, differences were observed in asset endowment and household characteristics between HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected farming households. Comparing affected and non- affected farming households showed that HIV/AIDS-affected households are mostly female-headed, have a significantly higher dependency ratio, and experience a greater shortage of labour despite their larger household size. Land sale, a commonly quoted strategy for household labour loss related to HIV/AIDS is rare in the study area. This is possibly due to cultural beliefs associated with land which deter the sale of ancestral land. Lack of transferability rights (as more than half of the households in sample population have no title deeds to their land) could also be a deterrence factor of land sale. Affected households have adopted various labour coping strategies such as labour re-allocation, hiring labour and bringing in relatives. Some affected households have stopped growing labour-intensive vegetable crops while some have altogether abandoned their land. To cater for the high direct and indirect costs, HIV/AIDS-affected households have various sources of income. These include borrowing from informal sources (ROSCAS, relatives and extended family members) and they also receive remittances from migrant household members. Membership in ROSCAS is crucial as it enables households to access informal credit. In addition to farming, HIV/AIDS-affected households have diversified income sources in the form of rent from land and they engage in labour migration.The adoption of tissue-cultured banana is positively related to financial and physical capitals. The high and medium resource endowment households that have financial capital in form of savings and access to credit are more likely to grow tissue-cultured banana. This is primarily because of the high cost of the tissue-cultured plantlets. Furthermore, the results suggest that affected households are most likely not to adopt the tissue-cultured banana technology. Thus, for the technology to benefit resource-poor farming households who constitute the majority of the sample population, efforts must be made to increase their access to financial capital or lower the cost of tissue-cultured plantlets.Increased farm output resulting from technology adoption is expected to result in various outcomes such as increased household food security, increased income through the sale of extra produce, and reinvestment into household activities. Both HIV/AIDS-affected and non-affected households growing tissue-cultured banana reported an increase in banana production, income and food, which they attributed to the adoption of the technology. However, HIV/AIDS-affected reported higher increases in production, income and food supply as a result of growing tissue-cultured banana.Although the area extension services have not directly suffered the attrition caused by HIV/AIDS, they are lacking skills, finances and human capacity in providing appropriate services to farming households and in particular the HIV/AIDS-affected households. Not only will more extension workers be needed, but contents of extension services also need to change in order to be responsive to the AIDS epidemic. Extension services need to cater to the knowledge needs of women, the elderly and the young.Female-headed households were found to be disadvantaged in several ways. The majority of them are in the low resource endowment farming household category. Firstly, female household heads have significantly lower education level than male-headed households. Secondly, their financial capital base is also low because they have no savings and their access to informal credit provided by community organisation is limited, having few household members engaged in these groups. In addition, female-headed households have significantly lower physical capital in terms of household assets which they could sell and get cash in times of crisis. Slightly over half of the female-headed households are HIV/AIDS-affected. These households have a significantly higher dependency ratio and a higher incidence of labour shortage than non-affected households despite their larger size. Renting out of land a strategy undertaken by HIV/AIDS-affected households is not common in female-headed households due to lack of transferability rights. Some of the household members have therefore opted to migrate to urban areas in search of employment, a strategy that further puts the households at risk of HIV/AIDS.In conclusion, policy-makers and development agents targeting agricultural technology development for food security and poverty reduction should take into account the diversity of farming households. Farming household capabilities, assets and activities should play a major role in shaping policy on agricultural technology development. Labour-saving technologies may indeed be appropriate for many households, especially female-headed HIV/AID-affected households that lack cash for hiring labour. However, agricultural research should focus on developing low risk technologies in terms of financial requirement that can assure farming household food security, as well as cash income to pay for school fees and basic necessities.

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.