Improved Varieties of Plantain for Tropical Lowlands

Better Plantain Varieties for Thriving Farmers

The "Improved Varieties of Plantain for Tropical Lowlands" created through controlled crossbreeding are more resilient to diseases and pests and yield better than the local varieties. These improved plantains grow well in different climates. They may not have the same quality properties as local varieties, but they are excellent for certain recipes.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Project adoption

The technology has been integrated in the ENSURE project: in 7 regions of the East African Community

Goal: 3,000,000 farmers (50% women)

149,940 lead farmers and promoters trained

Budget: USD 13.14 million

Implementation period: 2024–2027

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Limited resistance to pests and diseases in all local plantain varieties.
Black leaf streak or black sigatoka reduces yield by 33-50%.
Weevils and nematodes undermine corm and root systems causing snapping and toppling of plants.
Inadequate access to disease-resistant and high-yielding plantain varieties.
Plantain productivity is not stable in shifting cultivation and bush fallow systems.

Solution

By cultivating improved plantain varieties that are resistant to diseases and pests and are high yielding, the technology significantly boosts overall plantain harvests, contributing to food security and economic stability for farmers.
The developed improved varieties are tailored to thrive in diverse climates and production conditions, offering a flexible solution for regions with varying environmental challenges.
By mixing different types of plantains, the technology helps maintain a wide range of plant genetics, which is crucial for long-term agricultural sustainability.
Improved plantain varieties require less chemical inputs for successful cultivation thereby reducing environmental pollution.
Maximum yield and plantation longevity are achieved by using clean planting materials and good agronomic practices.

Key points to design your program

Improved Plantain Varieties for Tropical Lowlands help restore plantain productivity by replacing traditional varieties that are highly susceptible to black leaf streak disease, weevils, and nematodes. The technology provides high-yielding hybrids adapted to diverse production environments, improving productivity, strengthening household food security, enhancing farmer incomes, and increasing resilience to production constraints, including drought. It is well suited for food security, poverty reduction, climate resilience, and sustainable agricultural development programmes, contributing to SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 13 (Climate Action). The technology also creates opportunities for women, youth, and smallholder farming households through improved access to quality planting materials, nursery enterprises, and stronger participation in plantain value chains. To successfully integrate this technology, consider the following key actions :

Identify priority plantain-growing areas where black leaf streak disease, weevils, nematodes, declining soil fertility, and low productivity significantly constrain production and household food security.
Establish partnerships with IITA, national agricultural research institutions, extension services, tissue culture laboratories, nursery operators, and farmer organizations to support the multiplication, dissemination, and local adaptation of improved plantain varieties.
Strengthen access to quality planting materials by supporting tissue culture laboratories, macro-propagation systems, certified nurseries, and efficient distribution networks for improved hybrids adapted to local production conditions.
Promote integrated plantain production by combining improved varieties with good soil fertility management, recommended agronomic practices, and integrated pest and disease management. In areas with high nematode pressure, support appropriate site selection and complementary management practices to maximize variety performance.
Train extension agents, nursery operators, and farmers on macro-propagation, nursery management, planting material production, integrated pest and disease management, and recommended crop husbandry practices.
Establish demonstration plots and farmer learning activities to showcase the performance of improved varieties under different agroecological conditions and accelerate farmer adoption.
Promote equitable access for women, youth, and smallholder farmers through targeted distribution of planting materials, technical training, support for nursery enterprises, and stronger participation in plantain value chains.
Monitor programme performance through indicators such as certified planting material production and distribution, adoption rates, plantain productivity, disease incidence, farmer income, and the participation of women and youth.

1400 USD

Production inputs and labor per ha

IP

Open source / open access

Improved Varieties of Plantain for Tropical Lowlands

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension (ENSURE)

Project funder: African Development Bank & East Africa Community
Planned Budget: USD 13.14 million
Location: East African Community (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda)
Planned duration: 2024–2027
Deployment means: On-farm demonstrations, training, digital tools (SMS, IVR, video, radio, pictorial guides), bundled inputs + advisory services, Training of Trainers (ToT)
Project main implementer: East African Community (EAC)
Project Description: Strengthen agricultural extension systems using digital tools, private-sector approaches, regional coordination, and multi-commodity focus (maize, cassava, rice, drought-resilient crops).
Objective: Promote regional extension, enhance advisory services, scale climate-smart technologies, build sustainable private sector–led extension systems, strengthen policy and regulatory frameworks.
Expected outcome: Increased adoption of improved technologies, improved farmer productivity and profitability, enhanced access to quality inputs and pest management solutions, strengthened resilience to climate and pest risks, regional market integration, job creation for youth and agripreneurs.
Figures of adoption: Target 3 million farmers reached over 4 years, digital extension pilots in 7 EAC states, training of extension agents, lead farmers, cooperatives, and youth agripreneurs, rollout of Pest Information Management Systems (PIMS).
Profiles of adopters: Smallholder farmers, women, youth agripreneurs, cooperatives and producer organizations, public and private extension agents, National Plant Protection Officers (NPPOs).
Lessons learnt: System-level approaches needed beyond technology delivery, digital tools most effective with in-person facilitation, supportive policy/regulatory environment critical, regional harmonization boosts scalability and cross-border diffusion of technologies.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Burkina Faso	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Burundi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Comoros	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Côte d’Ivoire	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Mali	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Senegal	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Sierra Leone	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Togo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid	–	–	–	–
Semiarid	–	–	–	–
Subhumid	–		–
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 13: climate action

Goal 1: no poverty

Take home message:

Breeding Resilient Plantains: The technology involves creating new varieties of plantains through controlled crossbreeding.
Combining Strengths: By mixing different types of plantains, the resulting varieties inherit beneficial traits, like climate resilience, disease and pest resistance.
Targeted Traits: The developed plantain varieties can withstand diseases like black sigatoka and pests like weevils and nematodes.
Adaptation to Different Conditions: These new plantain varieties are designed to thrive in various climates and production settings.
Increased Productivity: They can retain many green leaves and bear more fruits, leading to higher yields.
Specific Culinary Uses: Although these improved plantains are excellent for certain recipes, they may not have the same quality properties as local varieties.