Bunch of bananas © R. Domergue, CIRAD

Banana and plantain

Banana is the third leading tropical fruit crop. Some 85% of what is produced is consumed locally, and it therefore plays a significant role in food security in the African, Latin American and Asian countries where it is grown. It is also the world's most exported fruit, and is economically and socially vital for producing and exporting countries, where it generates substantial revenue and is a major source of jobs, primarily in rural areas. CIRAD therefore works to help players in the banana and plantain value chains to innovate with a view to greater sustainability, including on a territory scale.

Books and documents

Production guides

  • Recueil de fiches techniques sur la qualité de la banane. A set of five guides produced for the Association interprofessionnelle de la Banane (AIB), covering the various links in the banana value chain, from plot to market.
    Download on the Fruitrop website
  • R&D and innovation guide on banana, presenting the main innovations from R&D and good practices in the French West Indies for growing bananas following research carried out by CIRAD and co-constructed with the Tropical Technical Institute (IT2) and Caribbean producer groups.
    Download on the Fruitrop website
  • Plantain cultivation: training sheets, developed by CIRAD in collaboration with the African Center for Research on Bananas and Plantains (CARBAP) and the Cameroon Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) as a means of sensitizing farmers to the major issues for managing a plantain production field.
    Download on the Fruitrop website
  • Guides for better banana production: ENDURE, 2010
    Download on the ENDURE website
  • Banana statistical compendium 2019 for the Office de développement de l'économie agricole d'outre-mer (ODEADOM)
    Download on the Fruitrop website

Journals

FruiTrop 

Quarterly journal published by the CIRAD Market News Service, intended for professionals from the international tropical fruit and vegetable sector (banana, avocado, citrus, pineapple, etc). Available in English and French, in hard copy or online versions.
FruiTrop website

Fruits 

Bimonthly scientific journal on tropical and Mediterranean fruit crops.
Banana protocols, Fruits, Special Issue, 2009.
Fruits website

Other products and services resulting from CIRAD R&D

Scientific publications

CIRAD publications on banana and plantain