%0 Journal Article %T Agroecological distribution of banana systems in the Great Lakes Region %A CA Eledu %A EB Karamura %A WK Tushemereirwe %J African Crop Science Journal %D 2004 %I %X Banana (Musa spp.) is important in the Great Lakes region of Africa as a staple food crop and source of income for the rural poor who also use it for various purposes; medicinal, cultural as well as industrial. The crop is grown across diverse agroecological conditions ranging from lowlands at sea level to highlands above 1500 m.a.s.l. Equally diverse are the socio-economic conditions associated with the crop across the region. The region is dominated both in production and acreage by the East African Highland bananas. Plantain and Cavendish production on the other hand dominate at the lower altitudes where the acreage under banana cultivation is steadily increasing. The agroecological diversity and the effects of socio-economic factors may have far-reaching implications to strategic planning for increased productivity of bananas especially considering possible effects on food security, pest/disease control, cultivar diversity and market/income. Using secondary information including existing databases on climate, land use/cover and edaphic factors, principal banana production areas have been mapped and an attempt made to overlay these with selected bio-physical and socio-economic factors in order to elucidate basic agroecological characteristics of these areas. The outcome clearly indicates that there exists potential for attaining food security and stable income, given the better climatic conditions prevailing, existing germplasm banks and near favourable accessibility. Opportunities and constraints based on climate, edaphic, human population densities and accessibility are recommended for further research and developments. KEY WORDS: Food security, geographic information systems (GIS), Musa spp., socio-economic factors RESUME La banane (Musa spp.) est importante dans la r¨¦gion des grands lacs comme nourriture de base et source des revenues pour les populations pauvres qui l'utilisent ¨¦galement pour d'autres buts, m¨¦dical, culturel, et aussi bien qu'industriel. La plante est cultiv¨¦e ¨¤ travers diverses conditions agro ¨¦cologiques des plaines aux hautes terres ¨¤ 1500 m au dessus du niveau de la mer. Egalement diverses sont les conditions socio-¨¦conomiques associ¨¦es avec la plante ¨¤ la r¨¦gion. La r¨¦gion est domin¨¦e en production et superficie par les bananes des hautes terres de l'Afrique de l'Est. La production de plantains et de Cavendish d'autre part est dominante dans les basses altitudes ou la superficie sous la banane est constamment croissante. La diversit¨¦ agro ¨¦cologique et les effets li¨¦s aux facteurs socio-¨¦conomiques pourraient avoir entam¨¦ les strat¨¦gies de planification pour am¨¦liorer la productivit¨¦ de la banane avec des effets sur la s¨¦curit¨¦ alimentaire, le contr le de pestes/maladies, la diversit¨¦ des vari¨¦t¨¦s et le march¨¦/revenu. L'utilisation des donn¨¦es secondaires, la base des donn¨¦es climatiques existante, l'utilisation des terres/ couverture v¨¦g¨¦tale et les facteurs locaux, les zones de productions de la banana ont ¨¦t¨¦ iden %U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/acsj/article/view/27660