Where there is moist, irrigated soil, plantains and bananas are the preferred crop in Haiti. They consistently rank among the top three crops that rural Haitians plant. Eighty percent of rural Haitians plant them and virtually all Haitians eat them. They are to Haitians what the potato is to North Americans. And for reasons described below, they have qualities that make them uniquely suited to cultivating in Haiti and to feeding the Haitian population.
A giant herb, not a tree, banana and plantains are the largest plant without a woody trunk or stem. The part that resembles a trunk is actually a tightly growing bunch of leaves that grow straight up from an underground stem, which means that means they can be cut back to ground level and within days new ‘stalks’ will begin sprouting up from the ground again. And because the plant propagates with rhizomes, new stalks are constantly emerging from the ground elsewhere in the vicinity. When the farmer doesn’t want plantains any longer, they are impossible to destroy without physically uprooting the underground network of rhizomes.
The leaves grow tightly together to form a tight sheath—the stalk, as mentioned above, or what we think of as the trunk of the plant. The sheath eventually opens to branch out and form a canopy, under which sprout flowers that will grow into bunches of fruit. The fruits are actually giant berries. They take 9 to 10 months to reach maturity but can be harvested, cooked and eaten at any stage of growth. The heart of the stalk can also be eaten. The leaves are used as all-purpose wrappers, not unlike tinfoil. They can even be used to heat foods.
Plantains and bananas are big producers. In ideal, agro-industrial conditions they can yield 40 to 50 tons per hectare and can continue producing bunches all their year-round, giving a steady supply of food for consumption or sale in the market. A single plant can continue producing fruit for 50 years. Nutritionally they are not high in protein or fat, but at 200 calories per 100 grams they are high in calories.. They can be turned into flour that transports easily and can be two months and can be used as like flour to make cookies, cakes, biscuits, breads, and foufou, In the neighboring Dominican Republic there is a strong tradition of using plantains to make Mangu, mixing pulverized plantains with edible oil and seasoning. None of the preceding has taken hold in Haiti. Rather, plantains are mostly eaten boiled, like a boiled potatoe, or smashed and fried, making something that resembles French-fries in texture and taste. (Yusufu 2014).
In the 1930 and into the early 1949s, the US Standard Fruit Company paid growers in some areas of Haiti to produce bananas. The produce was loaded onto refrigerated freight ships and sent directly to the United States. In the late 1940s the Haitian government nationalized the industry, ending banana exports. The government company subsequently folded. Production soon shifted almost entirely to plantains, one of Haiti’s most popular domestic staples.
Today, according to the Haitian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI), regional production per hectare is 7.2 tons per year in the mountains and 18 tons per annum in irrigated plain areas. This latter figure, if true, is exactly the World average. MCI claims a potential to reach 40 tons per hectare on the plain. But it is also notable that Haiti has been hit with Black Sigatoka, something that ORE (2016) claims has “decimated” production in the country. Sigatoka will eventually kill the plant; at the same time, however, the literature commonly refers to ‘yields reduced by as much as 50 percent’, suggesting that farmers can still cultivate the diseased crops. Elsewhere, references are to 80% of the crop lost and 80 percent reduction in nutritional value for what remains.[i] [ii]
Facts about plantains and regional growing and marketing practices that have been considered include the following,
Opportunities: Researchers in West Africa report that spoilage and rough handling result in post-production losses of from 20% to 40% of the harvest (EPAR 2013). The use of coolers and plastic containers can increase shelf life from 14 to 27 days (ibid). Although in the target areas producers and marketers have adapted a system of harvesting, transport and sale that typically results in moderate losses, there are still times when losses are significant, such as after heavy rains when roads are cut or when a local bus is out of service. Access to cold storage and containers could offset losses at these times. Transformation is also an area of promise. Sun-dried plantain chips double the value of raw plantains sold in urban Haiti. Plantains and bananas can both be used to make flour, baby food, bread, wine, beer, juice, porridge, and a type of ketchup. People in rural areas use plantain stalks to weave sleeping mats that could be marketed in urban areas. Rope can also be made from the dried stalk. Stems are used in cloth and paper production. Peels are a nutritious a fodder for animals. The national dish in the neighboring Dominican Republic is mangu, smashed plantains mixed with lime juice, eggs, onions and spices. Mangu provides a high protein staple that, if frozen, has a shelf life of 8 to 12 months. People in Haiti inexplicably do not make mangu, a significant market opportunity. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo similar entrepreneurial projects have increased value added to farm gate produce by a factor of 4 to 5 times typical profit margins (see SCED 2001; Banana Link 2014; CGIAR 2014). [iii]
Limiting Factors: Plantains are effected by 15 pests and 14 diseases. [iv] The most significant is Black Sigatoka fungal disease which, as seen, is reportedly wiping out the traditional varieties of plantains throughout Haiti.
Mitigating Measures: Opportunities to assist farmers combatting Black Sigatoka, increased coordination among producers, orchestration of bulk aggregation through storage and shipping centers, and improved roads and marine transport could all have a significant impact on production and market access in Haiti. Phytosantiary certifications would also aid in accessing high end purchasers and export.
Risks: Black Sigatoka fungal disease.
Sustainability: Plantains and bananas are predominantly irrigated bottom land and ravines. Plantain trees shade and help conserve the soils. If farmers can overcome or avoid Black Sigatoka, production is stable and consistent. Nevertheless, increased production requires significant improvement in crop husbandry in a high input-high output agricultural system, meaning pesticides and fertilizers that to reduce impact on the environment must be chosen carefully or replaced altogether with intensives and costly insect trap campaigns.
[i] Luis Perez Vincent 2013 Current Situation of Black Sigatoka in the Caribbean and Potential Use of FHIA Resistant Hybrids. Congresoo Internacional de Banana
IICA 2002 Report on Caribbean Black Sigatoka Management Workshop. Kingston Jamaica
http://www.oreworld.org/banana.htm
[ii] l’Industrie (MCI) & Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD) 2013. Produits typiques en Haïti Ministère du Commerce et de
[iii] http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABT829.pdf
[iv] Problems effecting bananas and Plantains. From Queensland Government Business and Industry Portal (http://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/agriculture/crop-growing/fruit-and-nuts/queenslands-banana-industry/pests-diseases-banana-crops)
PESTS
DISEASES
Serious quarantine diseases
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