%0 Journal Article %T Rapid mass propagation and diffusion of new banana varieties among small-scale farmers in north western Tanzania %A A Gallez %A G Runyoro %A CB Mbehoma %A I van den Houwe %A R Swennen %J African Crop Science Journal %D 2004 %I %X Since the seventies, factors such as declining soil fertility and the emergence of pests and diseases have reduced banana (Musa spp.) yields from about 10 to 4 t ha-1 in the Kagera region, North Western Tanzania where banana is the most important staple food. Thus, clean planting materials are required to solve the problem of pests and disease infection. To this effect, new banana varieties were introduced, multiplied locally and distributed to more than 0.5 million people since 1997. The target was set to have 1 million plants of superior varieties in the farmer's fields by March 2003 which accounts to about 1.5% of the total banana population in the region. A total of 21 varieties were introduced and evaluated for their palatability and field performance by the local communities. Fourteen varieties were multiplied In vitro. A total of 71,000 In-vitro plants were introduced in the region since 1997 and multiplied in 35 nurseries by field decapitation. These multiplication fields contain 84,000 stools and are spread over the entire region. To-date 340,000 suckers have been distributed by the project and 680,000 suckers from farmer to farmer, amounting to 1,020,000 suckers. The best performing varieties are FHIA-17, FHIA-23, SH3436-9 and Yangambi. Results of an impact assessment survey show that the superior varieties outyield the local varieties by an average of 40%. Key Words: Clean planting material, impact assessment, In-vitro, Musa spp. RESUME Depuis les ann¨¦es soixante-dix, des facteurs tells que la r¨¦duction des la fertilit¨¦ de sols et l'¨¦mergence des pestes et maladies ont r¨¦duit le rendement de la banane (Musa spp.) de 10 a 4 t ha-1 dans la r¨¦gion de Kagera, au nord ouest de la Tanzanie o¨´ la banane est la nourriture de base. Par cons¨¦quent, du mat¨¦riel sain est n¨¦cessaire pour r¨¦soudre le probl¨¨me d'infection des pestes et des maladies. Pour ce faire, des vari¨¦t¨¦s nouvelles ¨¦taient introduites, multipli¨¦es localement et distribu¨¦es a plus de 0.5 million des personnes depuis 1997. Il ¨¦tait cibl¨¦ d'atteindre 1 million de plantules de vari¨¦t¨¦s sup¨¦rieures dans les champs des fermiers vers Mars 2003 repr¨¦sentant 1,5% de la population banani¨¨re dans la r¨¦gion. Au total 21 vari¨¦t¨¦s ont ¨¦t¨¦ introduites et ¨¦valu¨¦es pour leur go t et performance dans les champs par les communaut¨¦s locales. Quarante vari¨¦t¨¦s ont ¨¦t¨¦ multipli¨¦es in vitro. Au total 71,000 In-vitro plantes ont ¨¦t¨¦ introduites dans la r¨¦gion depuis 1997 et multipli¨¦es dans 35p¨¦pini¨¨re par d¨¦coupage en champs. Un total de 84,000 coupures ont ¨¦t¨¦ r¨¦alis¨¦es par multiplications dans les champs et ont ¨¦t¨¦ diss¨¦min¨¦es dans toute la r¨¦gion. Aujourd'hui 340,000 rejetons ont ¨¦t¨¦ distribu¨¦s par le projet et 680,000 rejetons d'un fermier a l'autre, pour un total de 1,020,000 rejetons. Les vari¨¦t¨¦s les plus performantes sont le FHIA-17, FHIA-23, SH3436-9 et Yangambi. Les r¨¦sultats de l'¨¦valuation de l'impact ont montr¨¦ que les vari¨¦t¨¦s sup¨¦rieures ont outr¨¦ pass¨¦es les vari¨¦t¨¦s locales par une mo %U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/acsj/article/view/27657