• High yielding, East African Highland banana [Matooke] hybrids improved for resistance to pests, diseases and tolerance to drought. With these, the life span of banana plantations increases from 4-5 years to over 50years, especially in ecologies with high disease pressure.
• Tools, packages and recommendations of Good Agronomic Practices [GAP] including crop management, soil health and water management. Coupled with improved hybrids, it is possible to increase and sustain banana productivity upto 60tons/ha/yr.
• Basic biotechnology tools and services, such as tissue culture, and advanced biotechnological solutions for difficult to breed-for biotic constraints
• Innovations, technologies and products in value addition servicing Industry 
  
  

The value of banana as a stable food crop that feeds over 70% of Ugandan population, goes beyond food and nutrition security to wealthy, healthy, peaceful families and communities.  However, the potential of wealth from banana has remained under-exploited because of limited organised avenues for value addition. Our research initiatives hold a critical role within the national agenda for Industrialisation of the Banana. 

“Bananas beyond food” is our strategy for expanding avenues of value addition. Enhancing utilisation beyond food is hinged in the realisation that value can be added to every part of the banana plant from leaves, fruits, peels, pseudostems, corms and the roots. Through multi-stakeholder partnerships, we generate technologies, innovations and research solutions servicing industry, the main ones being food, fibre/paper/textiles, energy and pharmaceutical industries. 

Our stakeholders include partners in technology generation, policy makers, regulators, local government, technology endusers – mainly farmers and private sector. We leverage on small holder grassroot farmer networks are increasingly organising  themselves in cooperatives societies under the umbrella of the Uganda National Banana Growers Cooperative Union. Such coordinated, organised value chains and multistakeholder partnerships form an enabling platform for sustainable productivity, value addition networks and systems towards the industrialisation of the Banana crop. 

The National Banana Research Program works in collaboration with national, regional and international partners to deliver research services.  Through diversity of communication channels, we deliver information about our technologies to address unique needs of various stakeholders. On this website, you will find tools and packages in Good Agronomic practices, Improved Hybrids, Value addition, Biotechnology, Partnerships, Our research Projects, Events and much more.

For more information contact us on: 

­­­Telephone: +256 414 699 242 

Email: info@banana.go.ug 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bananaprogram

Twitter: www.twitter.com/narobanana

YouTube: LINK

Thank you.