The first few statements on the website of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) treat you to an alarming revelation that one Billion people live under chronic hunger. Just to stress here that Chronic hunger is not a one off delay in the regular eating hours or loss of appetite for a few days but rather part of one’s way of living without the needed meals, while one Billion sadly in this scenario means one thousand million brothers and sisters that are waiting upon the mercy of time to hasten their departure from this world.

A contemplation about the above statement leaves me speechless but as a people that have resolved not to simply lament about our challenges but rather stand up and face them head on, a question if not a call of duty has always come to me enquiring whether  Rwanda and specifically I can’t change such alarming statistics.

In my search for answers, my mind quickly landed on one habit that is common in Rwanda; one of using banana tubers to guide guests to various functions (weddings, graduations, birthday parties name them).

It is pertinent to note that a banana crop can be consumed as; food or fruit while certain types are a source of juice, wine and medicine. This is in addition to the time and funds spent in planting, mulching, weeding and the fertilizers spent on such tubers before they are cut. The list is endless. 

A simple calculation of the banana tubers that go down every weekend, month and year in the whole country reveals the huge resource wasted that would otherwise save thousands that are starving to death.  

However, before thinking of ending the habit, one could ask whether this habit is part of our culture that deserves preservation and therefore worth passing on to the future generation or it is simply a vice with a source unknown.

 If it is truly part of our culture, then I stand to be corrected. Otherwise, the continued use of such a vital resource for minor purposes amidst hunger, starvation and abject poverty that has been chronic to most families to me should be stopped immediately.

Surely, we don’t have that luxury of misusing important resources like food because even when we are food secure, we can vie for the number one spot of Banana exporters worldwide thus increase our exports, thereby improving our balance of payments position and who knows, be in a position to pay off all our debts and fully support our national budget.

One could put forward the argument of living in a non planned area where streets are not yet well named as the cause for this habit. This is not reason enough to settle the matter, there are also venues that are well known yet one still finds these innocent banana tubers leaning against entrances of such hotels. Nevertheless, if this is perceived to be the reason, then thank God most Districts have developed master plans and we should all in our respective capacities work towards their implementation. Nevertheless, even before our cities are well demarcated with street names and addresses, short term alternatives should be undertaken. 

One would also argue that a wedding for instance, is such an important event that under normal circumstances happens once in somebody’s lifetime and therefore no amount of money or any other resource is equivalent to its weight. However, it is worth noting that superior wedding decorations and eloquent MCs without true love add less to the sustainability of the marriage.

By taking a look at what is transpiring in the horn of Africa, I strongly believe that this matter is such critical and therefore an opportunity for us to invent possible options that shall offer better alternatives that will serve the same purpose leaving Bananas to serve their vital and primary purpose.

Ends