* No one should fail to grow bananas simply because they don’t have the farming inputs of suckers
* On top of that I will also share with you some modern banana farming practices
By Duncan Mlanjira
Encouraged by a rich harvest of bananas at his Golden Valley Farm in Lilongwe, Chris Tukula is enticing fellow farmers to venture into mega farming of the crop in order to discourage the influx importation of bananas from Tanzania and other neighbouring countries.
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Tukula — who is surprisingly a legal professional — posted pictures of his rich harvest on Facebook plus those of other crops he grows at Golden Valley Farm, whose plantations are located at Bunda and Nsundwe, saying he has struck gold and he has plenty of banana suckers which he is willing on credit to share with those interested.
“My banana suckers are of excellent quality,” he wrote. “Those who want to venture into banana farming or are already into this business, come and get them to plant before the rains stop.
“Don’t worry about paying for the suckers now, just collect and plant, you shall pay back at your convenience. I just want us to plant more bananas to sustain our market and to discourage importation of bananas from Tanzania.”
He added that he is selling his suckers and fruit harvest at reasonable prices taking into consideration of the devaluation of the kwacha which has affected the economic livelihood of most Malawians, who cannot afford to buy the imported banana.
“No one should fail to grow bananas simply because they don’t have the farming inputs of suckers,” he said. “On top of that I will also share with you some modern banana farming practices.”
He posted on March 21 and has since earned over 270 positive congratulatory comments, describing his offer for the banana suckers as progress that is needed amongst compatriots.
Fellow small scale farmer Gwazings Nzunga attested that Tukula’s suckers are indeed of top quality which he benefitted from for his own farm as well as Snowden Mmadi, who testified that he started with 200 suckers last year and now the count has reached 600.
“I haven’t applied any fertilizer or manure, yet the bananas are thriving. Mbeu yodalilika ndiyosamalidwa bwino (very good crop and well managed).”
Nyabaghila Chatata said indeed “Malawi can feed itself and its neighbours — it just calls for commitment as you have done” to which Tarcizio Chimbwanya agreed, saying it is possible to develop mega farming and Golden Valley Farm has given good reference point.
Elias Dziko described Golden Valley Farm plantations as well organised and very clean that is producing “very healthy products”.
Selling at K600/sucker, Tukula said the farm has 80% as dessert bananas and 20% plantains.
The legal professional, with 23 years post qualification experience is currently working as a Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of newly-established Government institution named Independent Complaints Commission (ICC).
It receives and investigates public complaints against the Malawi Police Service and its officers as one way of enhancing and enforcing accountability, professionalism, discipline and respect for the rule of law in the service.
In an interview, Tukula said he started as a small time farmer about 10 years ago mainly growing maize and groundnuts for consumption using rented pieces of land.
“Later on, I started buying small pieces of land in isolated places for the same purpose while looking for a more expansive site for a horticultural venture. In 2019, I bought fairly big piece of land and decided to go into more serious farming, focussing on horticulture.
For horticulture, Tukula has two main sites — at Nsundwe (20 hectares) and another at Bunda (10 hectares) and has other pieces of land around Lilongwe for agronomy crops.
“I mainly grow bananas but I also have pawpaws, mangoes, citrus fruits, sugarcanes and beans using both irrigation and rain-fed farming: “During the rainy season, we fully take advantage of the rain and we use irrigation during the dry spells.
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Asked if his can be describe as a mega farm, Tukula said: “The current definition of mega farm by the Ministry of Agriculture starts from 20 hectares — so I fall in that category.”
And asked if he is in a farming cooperative to take advantage of registering for the Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM facility), he said he is farming alone as the area where he farms most, the community members do not grow bananas or horticultural crops as a commercial venture.
“I would like to pioneer this kind of farming and gradually work or partner with other farmers. I have not yet applied for AGCOM — I would like to satisfy some of their requirements first.”
He work at the Independent Complaints Commission can be demanding and asked how he juggles himself in between farming and and his professional work, Tukula said: “I do farming activities after working hours and during weekends. I go to the farm frequently because I have the passion for it and the sites are within reach from town.”
The graduate with a law degree from Chancellor College said going forward, his major plan is to go into full time in the next 5 years: “By then I would love to have the farm fully resourced with irrigation systems and upgrade all activities to a level where we are able to have quality produce and add value to our produce rather than selling them raw.
“We do receive students for internship at our farm. I would like to raise standards and use the farm as a model site for learning for the youth, students and fellow farmers,” he said.
In 2021, another passionate farmer, Joseph Nkhoma, also encouraged other small scale farmers to seriously consider growing bananas — attesting that it is big business.
Nkhoma studied veterinary medicine
A civil servant working as veterinary medicine expert in the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development in Lilongwe, Nkhoma told Maravi Express then that he ventured into farming as a hobby a couple of years back but now he realised farming is a huge revenue earner.
Soon after acquiring some 35 acres of land about 20kms outside the Capital City along the Lilongwe-Santhe Road on which he planned to invest into a household, Nkhoma first ventured into some horticulture (mainly tomatoes) and small scale poultry (layers) as well as goats and cattle farming for a while.
“These were doing very well bringing in the much needed income because the clientele was big and satisfactory,” he had said. However, he had to postpone this three types of farming as he had to review the livestock venture owing to logistical issues — chief of which was the land size.
From 2020, Nkhoma used half of his land to venture into an unknown territory — banana growing, saying I t takes about 10 months to start seeing the first fruit but it’s always nice to see the plantation grow and change.
He also attested that it’s possible to earn through sell of suckers before the fruits and then of course the fruits — adding that bananas can be grown throughout the year through irrigation to maximize production.
Nkhoma’s plantain then
“Irrigation is very important in agriculture,” he had said, which today the government is intensifying under the Greenbelt Initiative and the Mega Farm Programme.
In its budget, Government has allocated K100 billion towards intensification of irrigation farming through mega farms as a way of ensuring that maize reserves remain sufficient throughout the year.
A couple years ago the country was ravaged by the banana bunchy top disease that forced the Ministry of Agriculture to advise farmers to destroy all their crops to start all over again after it had been controlled.
Nkhoma, an alumnus of Kamuzu Academy and went on to study veterinary medicine challenges of growing bananas is proper land preparation, procuring appropriate manure and the waiting period when you have to keep investing without realizing any returns.
“There is need for labour, weeding is frequent, you likely need to irrigate. I looked at how much we are importing bananas and the piece of land available. I thought I could do my small part and so I got a horticulturist to assess the possibility and assist me. He did a good job!”
And the man is so passionate that despite having horticulturists to ask for advice, he invests his time by sourcing banana growing information through Google: “But I can’t take away what I learnt from the horticulture officers available at all times — they have been of great help.
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