Enoch Kikulwe
Bioversity International
Marsy Asindu
Makerere University
Biofortified banana (Musa spp.) is being promoted by the biotechnology industry to reduce Vitamin A deficiency and enhance the nutrition status of vulnerable populations in banana growing regions of the world. Pending its commercialization in some developing countries, there is a need to quantify demand and gauge the existing market demand for biofortified banana. Applying a contingent valuation method (CVM), we surveyed 233 Ugandan banana-consuming households, of which 32%, 45%, and 17.5% in the three regions surveyed (Central, Western, and Eastern regions, respectively) were willing to pay UGX 6,000 ($1.70 US) more per 22-kilogram bunch of biofortified bananas than for the equivalent weight in non-biofortified green cooking bananas. Our study calculates an annual potential demand for biofortified bananas of 2.6 million metric tons, with an estimated market value of UGX 2,542 billion ($673.5 million US), suggesting that, pending commercialization, there is already a huge market for biofortified bananas in Uganda.
Key words: Biofortified banana, VAD, willingness to pay, contingent valuation, Uganda.