Plantain Value Chain Addition Project (PVCA)

What is Project PVCA

YEST-IN believes in the power of partnerships and collaboration.

Coined as part of a joint commitment between YEST-IN and its partners, the goal of this project is to stimulate agricultural growth within Africa through youth empowerment.

The drawing board strategy is to boost production of local staples through innovative execution of agricultural “savoir faire” starting from Plantain a local delicacy eaten in various forms.

PVCA therefore more of an apprenticeship and initiation project to engage more youths in agriculture through a four stage execution designed to infuse the chosen with doses of techniques required to grow plantain from X plants to harvest to transforming to plantain derivative products such as plantain flour, chips, cookies, cakes, bread, peanuts, custard etc.

Macro-propagation through the PIF technique

This involved a drill through the process of plantain PIF multiplication technique.
The technique enables a farmer reap averagely 30 plant-lets from a single sucker stress free.

Harvesting/winning of plant-lets and transplanting

This step as every step is very important as it determines the time taken for the plant to bunch. The less stressed the faster they adapt and the faster they grow however the reverse is true.

Planting and maintenance

Exactly one week after winning, field preparation is initiated an activity including; clearing, pegging, mapping and transplant holes digging.

Marketing and transformation

At this stage, we will with our volunteers participate in the local markets to have a firsthand feel of making a livelihood.

Project Gallery Phase I

Suckers

Plantain suckers ready for preparation and chemical application

Seeds

Gathering the suckers for preparation

PIF Planlets

Propagator

Laying in state the suckers for multiplication

Expert

Preparing the suckers for the propagator

Competition

Youths competing to get work done fast

Youths Alive

A group of enthusiastic change makers

Team

Together for a new generation of Farmers

Tigha

An MSC Student, a proud volunteer

Volunteers

A team of volunteers ready for a change

Collaboration

A team of volunteers ready for a change

Phase II

This step as every step is very important as it determines the time taken for the plant to bunch. The less stressed the faster they adapt and the faster they grow however the reverse is true. Therefore, much diligence must be given to this stage.