Farmers' perceptions of constraints to plantain production in Ghana

Plantain (Musa AAB), a primary food crop in Ghana, is a key component in su stainable agricultural systems in high rainfall zones. Recently, there has been a substantial yield decline and reduction in plantation life. To eluci date the context in which intervention strategies should be developed, a Pa rticipatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted at five villages in the maj or plantain-producing belt of Ghana. The importance of plantain as a prefer red food was confirmed, although farmers tended to sell plantain for cash i ncome, using cheaper, less preferred alternatives for home consumption. Far mers identified decreasing soil fertility, the high cost of labour for weed ing, pests and diseases, lack of good quality planting material and marketi ng-related issues as the major production constraints. Due to declining pro ductivity in less fertile regions, plantain has been replaced with other fo od crops such as cassava and maize. Farmers over-estimated the importance o f insect pests but were unaware of the extensive damage that could be cause d by nematodes and the foliar disease, black sigatoka. They observed, howev er, that pest damage is more severe when soil fertility is poor. Clearly, i ntegrated pest management is likely to be most effective when practiced wit hin the context of cropping systems management; sustainable strategies that are being developed for resource-limited plantain farmers in Ghana are dis cussed.