New matooke variety empowers households

By John Kasozi

EVA Musinguzi, Winifred Ntawera and Keziah Ruharuza cannot believe that the newly-released two-inch Kiwangaazi banana variety they despised is empowering them.

The trio, who are part of the 16 contact farmers for the National Banana Research Programme under the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) in Kabarole and Kyenjojo districts, say in 2008, they were given suckers, which they doubted were bananas.

“The suckers never looked like the local banana suckers. The size and shape were different. I planted them, but after a few months, I told my family that I would cut them down,” Musinguzi recalls.  But Musinguzi added that when officials came for a field visit, they convinced her to wait for the results.

“It’s only when they made nine months that I realised they were real bananas,” she adds.  Muasinguzi said in September, 2009, she harvested her first bunch at 15 months.  “I tasted the matooke and they were delicious.”

Musinguzi, a resident of Nyabukara parish, West division sub-county in Fort Portal Municipality, says she recently harvested a bunch weighing 102kg.  She added that apart from being big, the new variety has proved to be drought and disease resistant.  “It has never been affected by diseases, yet it is in the same plantation with the local banana varieties.” Musinguzi says Kiwangaazi takes long to ripen compared to the local varieties.  “I harvested one bunch and stored it. It took 14 days to ripen unlike the local varieties that take five to seven days.” “The leaves too take a long time to dry. Amazingly, cooking it takes a short time,” Musinguzi adds. However, the farmers say because of their long stems, Kiwangaazi can easily be thrown down by strong winds. “The stems need poles to support them,” they said.

Musinguzi say since she started selling Kiwangaazi matooke bunches and suckers, she has never looked back. “I’ve sold 17 bunches at a farm gate price of sh15,000 each. The suckers go for sh1,000,” she explains. A bunch of local matooke goes for sh8,000 at the farm.  Musinguzi says the demand for Kiwangaazi suckers is very high.

She says she has used proceeds from the new matooke variety to buy four goats, which have multiplied to 13.  “If NARO had given us more suckers, I would have a cow by now,” Musinguzi said, adding that she was planning to expand her Kiwangaazi farm on a four-acre piece of land.  Ruharuza from Mukunyu-Miranga parish, Butiti sub-county in Kyenjojo district says she struggled to grow the tiny suckers. “After they got to one-year, the plants started growing faster,” she says.  Ruharuza adds that her first bunch weighed 80kg.  “However, during the rainy season, Kiwangaazi bunches put on a lot of weight. I sell a bunch at between sh15, 000 and sh20,000, depending on the size,” she says.  Ruharuza said she has sold about 700 suckers to Kyenjojo district at sh1,000 each, adding that the Kiwangaazi stump is prolific and produces about 20 to 30 suckers.  Ntawera of Rwakazooba village, Bugaaki sub-county in Kyenjojo district says the new matooke variety has changed her life.  “My soils are not fertile like in other areas, but my bunches weigh between 40kg and 50kg,” Ntawera says.  Plantation management  Kiwangaazi is a crossbred between Nakawere and a wild banana.  It is tolerant to Nematodes, invisible worms that cause root rotting, weevils and Black Sigatoka, a fungal leaf spot disease that causes heavy defoliation that severely suppresses fruit filling.  The variety has persistent bracts and neuter flowers, a trait that enables it to escape insect transmission of banana bacterial wilt.

Like local banana varieties, Kiwangaazi should be planted during the rainy season to avoid drying up during the first four to six months.  Currently, NARO is establishing more mother gardens to meet the increasing demand for Kiwangaazi suckers.