A Banana Multiplication Success Story

ECHO Asia technical advisor, Dr. Abram Bicksler, carrying out a similar banana  multiplication  test (results may vary according to banana varieties and locations).

At the 2011 ECHO Asia Conference we asked the delegates to share stories describing successful uses of ECHO's information and resources. The following is one in a series of posts containing these success stories.

ECHO's activities, from publications to conferences to seed distribution, all have one goal: getting resources into the hands of workers on the field so that we can indeed “honor God through sustainable hunger solutions.” For long-time members of the ECHO network all these disparate activities really seem unified. Buzz Maxey, of CAMA Services, shared a few comments with us, illustrating how he has utilized a number of different ECHO information and resources over the years:

“First, banana propagation gleaned from EDN [66]. A lot of my efforts and trials have been a fiasco but I was successful in this one: peel off 3 layers of the banana stalk, cut off the leaves, bend stalk over in [the shape of] a number 7. Drive a stake through the stalk at knee level, dig out a bit at the base of the plant, refill with compost, and in a few weeks many pups will sprout.

Second, chaya, moringa, papaya, loquat, and erethrina have all grown well. One farmer has sweet 

papaya—50 plants—at 5000 ft. elevation and his 75 head of cattle are eating chaya.

Third, I have attended four ECHO conferences and benefited every time. I have been blessed to be with people of like mind who are impacting the world's poor.” --Buzz Maxey, October 2011

Buzz Maxey was able to learn about banana multiplication from an EDN, receive samples of useful species from the ECHO seedbank, and share encouragement and information at four ECHO conferences. This is just one example of how ECHO's multiple activities serve the ultimate goal of serving the poor through sustainable agricultural solutions.

If you'd like more information about rapid banana multiplication see EDN 66, which Mr. Maxey referenced, and EDN 99, which demonstrates a slightly different technique. Both are available at ECHOcommunity.org.