Bananas are among the world’s most popular fruits.
Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti South West Local Government is blessed with this extremely healthy and delicious fruit.
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in a 2019 research discovered that over three million bunches of banana were traded annually in Ilawe Ekiti.
A visit to the Banana market in Ilawe-Ekiti by Eko Trust, shows that the market is a beehive of activity as traders and customers engage in selling and buying of the fruit.
The Iyaloja of Ilawe-Ekiti, Chief Mrs. Elehinafe Yemisi, said people come from different parts of the country to buy banana in the community.
“We have customers coming from Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Lagos, Benin, Ore and other places. There are different types of banana in the market. We have the one we call ‘senior banana’, the paranta, Iroto, Oworo, Ogede Agbagba, Ogede Ibile, popularly called the “Ogede Babalawo” among others,” she said.
The Iyaloja, who noted that banana farming is the source of livelihood for many families in the community, sought government and investors support in establishing industries and factories to take care of the supply and export of the product.
His Royal Majesty, the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, described banana as a thriving industry in the community, stressing that the people are well known for banana farming.
“Our land is just unique, specially created for the growth of banana, that is why we have such in the community,” he said, adding that the community is looking forward to the creation of a Banana industry in Ilawe-Ekiti.
“We would continue to encourage our farmers. We would continue to look up to the government to ensure the early take-off of the cottage industry so that as it stands, the waste would be a thing of the past. We look forward to better days ahead for the Banana Industry,” the traditional ruler pointed out.
A retired Chief Agric Officer and President, Ilawe Improvement Union, IIU, Mr. Johnson Ajayi Igandan, said the soil in Ilawe-Ekiti is good for banana and that the climatic condition and environment favour plantain farming.
The IIU president however called for a plantain factory in the town, saying there is no part of banana that is a waste. He noted that those interested in sericulture use other raw materials for banana.
Mr. Igandan said that plantain is useful for making bread while some people also use it as an alternative to yam in making pounded yam, a popular delicacy in the state.
