Perceptions and outlook on intercropping coffee with banana as an opportunity for smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda

• Published in: International journal of agricultural sustainability Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 144 - 158
• Main Authors: Jassogne, Laurence, van Asten, Piet J.A., Wanyama, Ibrahim, Baret, Philippe V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Clevedon Routledge 01.05.2013; Channel View; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Agricultural and farming systems; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Altitude; banana; Bananas; Biological and medical sciences; Coffee; Competition; Cropping systems. Cultivation. Soil tillage; Crops; Farmers; farming system; Food; Food industries; Food security; Food supply; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Generalities. Cropping systems and patterns; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; innovation; institutional settings; Interviews; Medical sciences; Musa; Nutritional survey. Food supply and nutritional requirement; perception analysis; Perceptions; Productivity; R&D; Research & development; Soil fertility; Sustainability; Technological change; Value chain; Uganda; East Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Monocotyledones; Tropical zone; perception analysis; Farming system; Musaceae; Coffee; Banana; institutional settings; Innovation; Musa; Sustainable agriculture; Institutional system; Fruit crop; Food security; Angiospermae; Intercropping; Spermatophyta; Equatorial zone; Small farms; Farmer; Food supply; Farming
• ISSN: 1473-5903; 1747-762X
• DOI: 10.1080/14735903.2012.714576

Coffee and banana are important cash and food crops in Uganda and the surrounding East African highland region. Production is dominated by smallholders that have limited arable land and often coffee and banana are intercropped. No significant research and development efforts have been undertaken over the last few decades on this coffee/banana intercropping system. Because recent studies suggest that this system could be a practice with high benefits to the farmers, we decided to study the perceptions of stakeholders along the coffee value chain starting with farmers. Perception analysis based on open-ended interviews following interview guides revealed that a major limitation for the sustainability of this system was poor soil fertility conditions. Perceptions on the benefits of intercropping differed little among coffee actors; that is, banana intercropping provides additional food and income from smallholders' limited land and helps farmers reduce risks related to drought, pest/disease attacks and coffee price volatility. However, farmers' desire to minimize risks does not match the objective of stakeholders higher up the coffee value chain to maximize coffee production. Furthermore, research by public institutes, both national and international, is primarily organized for single crops and not systems. We conclude that the institutional setting of the coffee sector hampers the promotion of intercropping, despite the benefits for the farmer.