An MATF monitoring team admires a healthy crop of Banana in Kisii, derived from the ISAAA implemented banana tissue culture project.

Background
ISAAA Africenter received a phase 1 grant of £30,000) over a period of 18 months to diffuse tissue culture banana technology to smallholder farmers in Kisii district through micro-credit scheme and to stimulate in a sustainable way the distribution and utilization of tissue culture-derived banana planting material. Later another grant of £ 30,000 was granted to build on gains and challenges of phase1 for a period of 21 months.

Technology
Tissue culture is a proven technology for supply of large quantities of superior clean planting material within a short period. Because the planting material is free of pests and diseases, it is suitable to address the problems of declined banana productivity due to high infestation of soil-born diseases and pests.

Since the plants mature early and uniformly, the technology is especially appealing to smallholders constrained by declined farm sizes because they are able to harvest and sell fairly large quantities at one time. The technology package included the planting material and small quantities of fertilizer for planting, both of which were provided through in-kind credit and banana production skills. Farmers were instructed not to use suckers from their established tissue culture orchards for acreage expansion.

Technology transfer processes
The project used the group approach applying the Farmer Field School (FFS) model. This approach worked very well both to impart farmers with technical skills in orchard management and to develop Trainer of Trainers (ToTs) among the farmers, who in turn serve to train other farmers in the community. Exchange visits for ToTs from the FFS to Maragwa district where tissue culture banana technology had been introduced were also used to expose and inspire them further.

A K-Rep designed micro-credit scheme known as ‘Juhudi Loan System’, which built upon the group approach for loan guarantee, was used to enable farmers to acquire the number of tissue culture plantlets they needed to establish viable commercial banana orchards. Farmers in each FFS organized themselves into smaller units called ‘WATANO’. Two to three ‘WATANO’ groups joined to form a larger group known as Kikundi Cha Wakulima (KIWA), which was the administrative and legal entity through which the loan transactions were carried.

The credit was given in-kind and repayment started after a two-month grace period, so that the loan repayment was spread over a fairly longer period and was less burdensome. A repayment rate of over 80% was achieved. The repaid monies were used to set up a revolving fund for the small scale farmers.

ISAAA pooled together different partners each to play specific and unique roles, which were critical for the successful transfer and adoption of the technology. ISAAA’s key role was to link farmers to the tissue culture laboratories and to acquire the plantlets. The role of Kenya Agricultural Research institute (KARI) Kisii was to backstop the technology and to train in FFS, whereas the Ministry of Agriculture did the grassroots mobilization, provision of extension advice and supervision of activities at farmer level.

K-Rep, a micro-financial institution designed and administered the credit system. The partnership worked very well because roles were clearly defined and all aspects of the project handled in an atmosphere of transparency and appreciation of each other’s roles.

Tissue culture banana orchard in production – over 85% of the plants are in fruit giving the farmers enough produce to market at a go.

Adoption of technology
Technology adoption was very impressive, with over 8,500 tissue culture seedlings planted. The prospects for technology diffusion and for up-scaling the adoption were high because 18 months after introduction of the technology into the area, the demand for it had risen tremendously with over 3,000 farmers in the neighborhood of project having applied for credit to try and acquire the tissue culture materials. Access to the TC plantlets was hampered by the lack of laboratories in project district or it environs, they were over 300Km away, hence the need for local hardening nurseries and appropriate skill development which was done in phase II.

Impact
The full economic impact of the project could not be determined during the 18month project period. Hence the project was given an extra extension grant of £ 30,000 for one year. This phase was to build on the gains made and fill the gaps identified in the production phase, as well as: establish a revolving fund; develop local entrepreneurs for the supply of TC plantlets at local level; post harvest management ; identify, develop and link farmers to markets.

The extension phase come to an end and the findings indicate that
• Availing credit to poor small scale farmers is a very appropriate strategy for diffusion of agricultural biotechnology as it addresses the major constraint needed to adopt the innovation.
• The micro credit contributed much towards commercialization and introduction of new synergies in the banana farming.
• TC banana plantlets are easily accessible to the small scale farmers at the farmer level through the hardening nurseries where local entrepreneurial skills have been developed.
• Men are actively participating in the farming thus supporting the women’s effort in farm work
• The TC banana farming improved social integration and cohesion, providing a forum for ideas sharing and problem solving at the poor small scale farmers’ level
• Household food security was achieved.
• Farm household income levels increased and living standards improved.