The Challenges of Banana Production in Afgoi Lower Shabelle, Somalia.

The production of bananas is one of the world's most important fruit crops. Bananas are grown in tropical countries, where they are the most consumed, but are appreciated for their taste, nutritional value, and availability throughout the year. The most commonly eaten banana is cavernish or dessert, although it can be fried, mashed, and refrigerated in cakes or puddings. They can also be used for making muffins, cakes, or bread. Cooking varieties (plants)are starch-like, not sweet, and are primary food sources in tropical areas. They are cooked when they are ripe or immature. Relative fruit contains 22 percent of carbohydrates, high fiber, potassium, manganese, and B6 and C vitamins. Banana production in Somalia dominated the agricultural sector since the 70's, with periodic lows during the civil war until 1997. In its prime periods, the banana sector has been Somalia's second most important foreign exchange earner after livestock. It provided 8,000-10,000 jobs in the production zones and guaranteed a steady cash influx of up to 1 million USD per month. Civil unrest and floods in 1997 devastated the industry. No other crop or rural-based industry has yet replaced the essential economic role of the banana sector, putting large sections of the population in the affected zones at risk to food insecurity and poverty. Banana plants naturally thrive in deep, free and well-drained soils in wet tropical climates and are successfully grown under irrigation in semi-arid areas such as southern Jamaica. The seedlings and divisions of the rhizome are used as seedling material; the first harvest ripens within 10 to 15 months, and then fruit production is more or less continuous. Frequent pruning is required to eliminate excessive growth and avoid overpopulation in banana plants. Many challenges are faced by banana producers in sub-optimal environments. This is especially true in subtropics, where colder growing conditions affect yields and fruit quality. The main problems are attributed to lower temperatures, which significantly extend the duration of the crop cycle and reduce the yield per unit of time, and to the damage caused by cooling plants and fruit sand to the abnormal growth of fruits and fruits associated with them.