People and Bananas on Steep Slopes Agricultural Intensification and Food Secunty under Demographic Pressure and Environmental Degradation in Rwanda

Rwandan farm households allocate more land to bananas than to any other crop Most bananas are brewed mto beer', although brewng greatly reduces the nutritional value of bananas In a country that suffers from considerable food msecunty, brewng has been seen as anOsocia1 waste Although several experts on rural Rwanda have recogmzed that some bananas are eaten and that beer bananas are an important cash crop for some farmers, many have lamented farmers' preference for beer bananas, and argued that bananas contribute little to food secmty, either because beer sales are inter-fm, fsulmg to increase net incomes m the rural sector, or because most beer is sold by large farmers, rather than by the food Insecure Several observers have predicted that demographc pressure is forcing or wll eventually force Rwandan farmers to replace the= beer bananas wth food crops Whlle the low levels of soil erosion in densely planted banana groves have frequently been noted, Rwanda's considerable efforts in soil conservation have focused on contour dltches and progressive terraces and have not tned to capitalize on bananas in soil conservation Slnce the colomal penod, policy-makers have sought to discourage the plantmg of bananas Neither beer bananas nor edlble bananas have received much &tent& in agnculhual research and extension.