Growing hybrid banana revived my business

Wavamuno holds a bunch of the hybrid banana that he grows on his farm. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA 

In Summary

Masaka was a banana producing district but due to Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), also known as Banana Bacterial Wilt (BBW), it declined. Because of this, Lubega Wavamuno of Mutalankalwe, Lwengo District, decided to grow hybrid bananas. The 52-year- old farmer opted for M9, which has had good yields for two years now. This helped him to maintain as well as diversify his farming enterprise. Christine Katende talked to him

I have been a farmer for 25 years and it is from this that I have gained experience to diversify to other farming enterprises.
But when I realised that I could not continue with the local banana varieties, I resorted to the hybrid one—M9, which is resistant to pests, diseases and drought, which was supplied through Naads.

Starting out
The bananas that I previously grew were affected by weevils, bacterial wilt and nematodes.
I cleared an acre of land and planted beans before planting the new variety.
I was part of a group that received training from experts from the National Banana Research Programme (NARO) in Kawanda.
This was on the basics: Planting plus care and management till the time of harvest though some farmers were hesitant about M9. There are a few challenges that I encountered but later managed them.

First harvest
I have realised that hybrid bananas produce bigger bunches in a shorter period than the local varieties.
I have harvested bunches weighing over 35 kgs but expect to harvest bigger bunches of 60-70kgs.
Nevertheless, in a month, I get 25 or more bunches. On average, it is about seven bunches in a week. I sell a few on a daily basis.
A bunch ranges from Sh10,000 to Shs12,000 or Shs15,000 depending of the size. I also sell to exporters and a box containing six clusters costs Shs12,000.

Subsequent sales
I sell about 30 boxes twice in a month. I also sell treated suckers at Shs2,500 each to farmers. I was able to earn Shs4.2m last season.
Although I sell as many as 1,000 suckers in a week, I make sure that I train the person buying them so that he or she is conversant with the best way to take care of them for a better yield.
I employ four permanent workers to undertake several activities at the farm, which now occupies 15 acres. I have also intercropped some coffee trees in a part of the banana plantation.

Achievements
From 2015 when I started with quarter an acre, I have been able to expand the coverage of M9.
From the proceeds, I have constructed a house and been able to meet the needs of my family. This includes their welfare at home as well as paying for their education up to university.

Challenges
Although I have had a good experience with hybrid, I was challenged by pests initially after planting. Also, the fact that I had no piped water, watering them at the initial stage was hard.
However, with the pests, I covered each of the plants with nets after which I sprayed them.
I removed the nets after two months when they had developed new leaves.

The other challenge is failure to continuously supply the export market because of the high demand.
Apart from the dams on the farm that collect 20,000 litres of water, I have extended piped water to the farm. The whole project cost Shs12m.
Future plans
One of the plans is to introduce apples. I expect to import the seedlings from Kenya at a cost of Shs30,000 each. However, I will carry out research on the best type of apple to grow.
Among the other plans is to get a coffee processing machine so as to add value on the coffee before it reaches the market and also get off husks to use them as fertilisers in the plantations.

The other enterprises on Wavamuno’s farm

Other enterprises include the following.
Mangoes: He introduced mangoes at the beginning of last year. They occupy three acres of land and each acre contains 100 trees totalling to 300 trees.
He intercropped an acre with lemon and tangerine to be a constant fruit supplier. Wavamuno also has cassava on the farm.

Coffee: It is clonal coffee that occupies about 10 acres. He grows his coffee in five phases to enable him have a continuous harvest. At every harvest, Wavamuno gets up 20-80 bags per acre depending on the season. He sells a kilo between Shs2,000- ShS4,000. But because of the drought that affected the coffee last season, he earned Shs20m, selling a kilo at Shs4, 500.
He makes sure that he continuously fertilises and weeds the plantation. He also prunes the trees as this makes spraying easier. With an experience of seven years in coffee farming, Wavamuno cites diseaseas such as coffee wilt that he has overcomes through spraying.

Fish: He started with 450 fingerlings he bought from Senya fish farm. He connected light at the pond to trap insects to provide the fish with extra food. They are four months old, he expects to sell them at nine months at Shs12,000 each.