Post-harvest Use of Banana in Uganda and Tanzania: Product Characteristics and Cultivar Preferences of Male and Female Farmers Pricilla Marimo, Deborah Karamura, Robooni Tumuhimbise, Post-harvest use of banana in Uganda and Tanzania: Product Mpoki M Shimwela, Inge Van den Bergh, Michael Batte, characteristicsCornel RS Massawe, and cultivar Asher preferences W Okurut, by Daudimale and B Mbongo, female farmersRhiannon Crichton D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 RTB Working Paper Correct citation: Marimo, P; Karamura, D; Tumuhimbise, R; Shimwela, MM; Van den Bergh, I; Batte, M; Massawe CRS; Okurut, AW; Mbongo, DB; Crichton, R, 2019. Post-harvest use of banana in Uganda and Tanzania: Product characteristics and cultivar preferences of male and female farmers. Lima (Peru). CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB). RTB Working Paper. No. 3. Available online at: www.rtb.cgiar.org Published by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) is a partnership collaboration led by the International Potato Center, implemented jointly with Bioversity International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) that includes a growing number of research and development partners. RTB brings together research on its mandate crops: bananas and plantains, cassava, potato, sweet potato, yams, and minor roots and tubers, to improve nutrition and food security and foster greater gender equity, especially among some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. www.rtb.cgiar.org Contact: RTB Program Management Unit International Potato Center (CIP) Apartado 1558, Lima 12, Peru [email protected] • www.rtb.cgiar.org ISSN 2309-6586 DOI: 10.4160/23096586RTBWP20193 © International Potato Center on behalf of RTB Creative Commons License This working paper is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. Disclaimer: This RTB Working Paper is intended to disseminate research and practices on the production and utilization of roots, tubers and bananas, and to encourage debate and exchange of ideas. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of RTB, CGIAR or the publishing institution. Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................... ii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Sampling .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Data analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Banana usage types in the study regions ......................................................................................................... 7 Products and product descriptions .................................................................................................................. 8 Factors affecting food/beverage product choices .......................................................................................... 10 Product trait preferences............................................................................................................................... 15 Cultivar preferences ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Gender roles and dynamics ........................................................................................................................... 26 Other cultural uses ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 30 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix ....................................................................................................................................................... 36 ABSTRACT Understanding user preferred traits is important for the successful development and adoption of improved banana cultivars. This article provides an overview of different banana products, cultivars used to make those products and the preferred characteristics as reported by men and women farmers in different regions of Uganda and Tanzania. Qualitative data from 23 focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in six districts (Mbarara and Luwero in Uganda; and Bukoba, Meru, Moshi and Rungwe in Tanzania) were coded and analysed. Results show that farmers process banana to make a range of products that include staple foods such as steamed matooke, mbalaga and machalari; alcoholic beverages and snacks. Different cultivars are preferred for an assortment of products. There are minimal differences in the cultivar preferences for specific products and product utilization patterns by men and women farmers. Differences only occurred when men and women described reasons why products are important or preferred, and in the roles of men, women and children in the preparation and processing of products from different banana types. Both men and women mentioned socio-economic, cultural, consumption and health-related attributes of the different products. However, women (73% of women only FGDs) specifically highlighted health benefits attached to women, for example after giving birth, during pregnancy, during lactation and for children; compared to 44% for men. Men pointed out more the socio-cultural importance of the products and provided detailed descriptions on market-related traits and the corresponding value chain actors (88.9% of men only FGDs). A myriad of factors that include variety of products, cultivar attributes before processing, characteristics of the processed product and location differences are identified, highlighting the need for further assessments and physicochemical characterisation of the traits to gauge the feasibility of considering this valuable information in the product development process. Some of the products and attributes of cultivars cited by farmers are generalized descriptions lacking sufficient detail (e.g. ‘tastes nice’, ‘good flavour’, ‘long shelf life’). Farmers have tacit knowledge of these attributes. Hence, researchers need to probe further and use a range of methods to extract this knowledge. There is a need for social scientists to collect data on trait prioritisation and for food scientists to do biochemical analyses to ensure information collected is well defined, comprehensive, quantifiable and measurable to effectively guide breeding and other agricultural research and development. B A N A N A P RODUCT AND C U L T I V A R TRAIT PREFERENCES i Acknowledgments This research was undertaken as part of, and funded by, the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) and supported by CGIAR Trust Fund contributors (https://www.cgiar.org/funders/), the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The authors wish to thank the participants in the focus group discussions for sparing time to share their knowledge, and the enumerators: Innocent Mpiriirwe, John Herbert Ainembabazi, Emily Albertson, Anthony Kadoma, Elizabeth Khakasa, James Amooti, Karembe Ahimbisibwe, Moreen Asasira, Shakira Nagasha, Sheilla Tushabe, Stella Kiconcos, Emily Albertson, Mike Maaku, Mgenzi Byabachwezi, Alexander Fayu, Almas Hamadi, Jojianas Kibura, Jasmeck Kilangi, John Kulola, Ramadhan Mgenzi, Zuhura Msigwa, Lucia Daniel, Alliy Mbwana, Helen Msuya, Jumanne Mangi, Grace Kindimba, Ndeshi Munisi, Juma Kitundu, Rizikiel Magohe, Noel Madalla, Daud Mbongo, Agness Ndunguru, Catherine Kabungo, Jennifer Swai, Johnson Mtama, Reinfrid Maganga and Sophia Swai. They also thank: Kephas Nowakunda, Alliy Mbwana, Charity Kibooga, Daudi Mubiru, Lilian Ndagire, Nelson Kisenyi and Ashiraf Mgenzi for assisting with data analysis and contributing to the preparation of the article. We are grateful to Michael Friedman, Vivian Polar and Graham Thiele who kindly reviewed the article and provided valuable feedback. ii B A N A N A P RODUCT AND C U L T I V A R T R A I T PREFERENCES Post-harvest use of banana in Uganda and Tanzania: Product characteristics and cultivar preferences of male