{"id":56765,"date":"2023-10-24T16:40:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T16:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million"},"modified":"2023-10-24T17:02:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T17:02:30","slug":"nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million","title":{"rendered":"NAB, AvaGro to develop banana industry \u2026as import bill hits N$57 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

Otniel Hembapu
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and the country\u2019s leading agricultural solutions company AvaGro have signed a transformative agreement that will see both entities join efforts to develop the country\u2019s banana industry in areas of research and implementation.<\/p>\n

During the signing ceremony, which recently took place at the AvaGro Farm in Swakopmund, NAB\u2019s CEO Fidelis Mwazi and AvaGro\u2019s CEO Leonie Hartmann expressed the growing need for Namibia to develop the banana industry and catch up with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Last year alone, Namibia imported a total of 6 394 tonnes of bananas, valued at N$57 million, mainly from neighbouring South Africa. Bananas remain the second most highly-consumed fruit in Namibia after Apples \u2013 and the country imports 100% of all its banana needs. Small-scale productions are taking place<\/p>\n

in the Zambezi and the two Kavango regions, as well as in the north-central, Karst and central production zones of the country, these are primarily for farmers\u2019 consumption and hardly reach the local market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis MoU will, therefore, address the main challenge hindering banana production in the country, which is access to high-quality and disease-free banana seedlings that not only have better yield and taste \u2013 but are also adaptable to Namibia\u2019s climatic conditions,\u201d said Mwazi.<\/p>\n

Hartmann pointed out that the seedlings will be produced in a tissue culture laboratory \u2013 and thereafter, field trials will be conducted in the different production zones of Namibia that have favourable climates and soil before being released for commercial production. This initiative, she said, will benefit small and large-scale farmers located in the targeted production zones.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, bananas and plantains are important staple foods in many developing countries, especially in Africa, banana starch, flour and chips are processed banana products, whose markets are yet to be fully developed on the continent.<\/p>\n

One of the indisputable food products that Africa contributes to the world is bananas, whose production has grown at an average of 3% globally. Uganda is the largest producer of banana and plantain in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Bananas & plantains<\/p>\n

Bananas are cultivated in nearly all tropical regions of the world. Of particular importance to Africa is the East African Highland Banana (EAHB), which is a staple starchy food for 80 million people and an important source of income.<\/p>\n

There are 120 EAHB varieties in Uganda alone that are not found anywhere else in the world. Meanwhile, plantains resemble bananas but they are longer, have a thicker skin and contain more starch. They are also a major staple food in Africa, Latin America and Asia.<\/p>\n

They are usually cooked and not eaten raw unless they are very ripe. Plantains are more important in the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa. One hundred or more different varieties of plantain grow deep in the African rainforests.<\/p>\n

Climate challenges As it is, the banana is a delicate plant that is easily affected by temperature fluctuations, which leads to low production and possibly the eventual death of the crop.<\/p>\n

Climate change remains the biggest threat to general food security globally and in Africa, where it is most felt, the livelihood of millions is at risk if temperatures continue soaring.<\/p>\n

Climate change is, however, not the only threat to the banana crop, as diseases that have also been spreading at an alarming rate are a danger too. In 2015, a fungus, dubbed Tropical Race 4, decimated the crop in the entire southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

In fact, the disease was first discovered in Australia, Jordan, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Middle East and Africa as far as 2013. It was so severe that it destroyed whole plantations in those countries.<\/p>\n

At the time, in 2015, researchers warned that developing new banana cultivars was an arduously expensive affair that would probably not curtail the spread of the disease in time.<\/p>\n

But years later, the banana crop remains resilient in most parts of Africa with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, saying that bananas and plantains are important staple foods in many developing countries, especially in Africa.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Otniel Hembapu Africa-Press – Namibia. The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and the country\u2019s leading agricultural solutions company AvaGro have signed a transformative agreement that will see both entities join efforts to develop the country\u2019s banana industry in areas of research and implementation. During the signing ceremony, which recently took place at the AvaGro Farm in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":56763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-56765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nNAB, AvaGro to develop banana industry \u2026as import bill hits N$57 million - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and the country\u2019s leading agricultural solutions company AvaGro have signed a transfo ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NAB, AvaGro to develop banana industry \u2026as import bill hits N$57 million\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and the country\u2019s leading agricultural solutions company AvaGro have signed a transfo ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-24T16:40:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-24T17:02:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/10\/sm_1698154155.206324.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"NAB, AvaGro to develop banana industry \u2026as import bill hits N$57 million\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-24T16:40:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-24T17:02:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\"},\"wordCount\":688,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/10\/sm_1698154155.206324.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/nab-avagro-to-develop-banana-industry-as-import-bill-hits-n57-million\",\"name\":\"NAB, AvaGro to develop banana industry \u2026as import bill hits N$57 million - 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