MATOOKE FOOD FESTIVAL

The Matooke Food Festival

Introduction

The Banana Agronomy project has been promoting productivity intensification technologies across the 5 project sites in Uganda and Tanzania. This has led to a significant increase in productivity in these project sites. However, in some sites like Nakaseke and Izimbya, productivity has not increased at the same rate despite deployment of similar efforts. This is attributed to some production and socio-economic constraints. Among the constraints, is the high disease pressure in these two sites which necessitates the hybrid banana varieties (HBVs) that are tolerant to most of the diseases and pests. The HBVs will facilitate sustainable intensified banana productivity in the sites.

Therefore, the HBVs were distributed among the farmers to establish a “clean planting material multiplication model” whereby all beneficiaries of the initial free suckers would provide 100% sucker recovery. A beneficiary who received 60 free initial plants, are expected to pass on 120 plants to the next beneficiary. The second beneficiary as well passes on 120 plants to the next project beneficiary and so on.

However, in an effort to enable the farmers appreciate the varietal attributes of these HBVs, the NARO Banana Program conducts Food Festivals promotion events to attract more farmers in the target areas to plant them.

 Objective

To promote uptake of hybrid bananas varieties resistant to pests and diseases at a large scale

 Target

Two hundred (200) banana farmers attending the food festival

 Event description

Ready bunches from all the distributed HBVs are collected from the initial recipient hosts. The food from these hosts is well prepared and served to all the participating farmers at the food festival event. Corresponding feedback for each variety is obtained from a defined sample of the participating farmers.

The event is targeted for the onset of rains so that farmers can be able to plant their preferred HBVs as after the food testing sessions. Suckers from all the distributed HBVs will be available to give/sell to the participants.

Programme for the day:

Title: Matooke Food Festival

Slogan: Come taste, go plant!

10:00 to 11:00am

• Arrival and registration of the participants 

11:00 to 12:00 Noon

• Prayer, and Anthem
• Welcome remarks (Local leaders)
• Overview of the event objective
• Project site coordinator
• Sub county Agricultural Officer
• The Farmer’s Perspective (host farmer)
• The Project PI

12:00 to 4:00pm

• Food testing session … this is continuous as the participants come
• Guided tour through the exhibition stalls … this is continuous throughout the day

4:00 to 4:30pm

• Guest of Honor speech
• Event closure

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