Book excerpt: This book addresses issues related to intensification of banana-based cropping systems in the (sub)humid highland areas of Africa. The information that is presented in the 28 chapters of the book is based on research carried out in the Great Lakes Region by CIALCA (Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Central Africa) and partners, and is arranged in six sections: banana germplasm (part 1), innovative seed systems (part 2), pests and diseases (part 3), cropping systems (part 4), postharvest use and nutrition (part 5), and technology adoption and dissemination of knowledge (part 6). This book provides a valuable resource for researchers, development actors, students and policy makers in agricultural systems and economics and in international development. It highlights and addresses key challenges and opportunities that exist in maintaining and improving the vital buffer function that bananas provide in the agricultural systems of the humid highlands of sub-Saharan Africa.