| dc.description.abstract | Tissue culture (TC) bananas are a recent form of biotechnology which aims at providing clean and disease-free planting materials that matures fast, are disease resistant and produce bigger fingers. These were introduced in response to the decline in banana production due to infestation of the traditional banana varieties by pests and diseases in the 1990's. TC bananas are an important horticultural crop in terms of its present and potential contributions. This study sought to assess the contribution of Tissue Culture Bananas on the Quality of Life ofthe Community: A case of Abogeta East Division, Imenti South District. Since the division is endowed with natural resources and has a great potential for high quality crops, the study assessed the contribution of food security, health, income and employment on the quality of life of the community.
The study was descriptive survey research and used proportional random sampling technique to get the sample size of the respondents. It targeted nine farmers' groups involved in growing TC bananas in Abogeta East division. A sample size of 50 respondents was selected for the study. Data was collected using questionnaires. It was then analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. Data has been presented using frequency tables which have been interpreted.
The study indicated that TC bananas have contributed mainly to increased source of food, improved health, increased family income and source of employment. The farmers had enough to eat, preserve in the store and sell the surplus to gain income. The increased income as a result of sales or employment has led to improvement of other quality of life indicators such as starting other income generating projects, paid fees for their children, improved health and installed piped water. In a smaller extent they have contributed to improved infrastructure and improved security in the community.
The groups of people that have benefited most from TC bananas are women (83%), youth (63.8%), men (57.5) and children (27.7%). Thus TC bananas have been a weapon to fight poverty and improve the quality of life of the community. Finally recommendations have been made to TC banana coordinators, policy makers and areas of further research. | en_US |
