Banana plantation
Encyclopedia
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s are grown.
Geographic distribution of banana plantations
Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s are primarily found in equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
ial regions, in banana exporting countries. The four leading banana export countries worldwide are Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Ecuador provides more than 33% of the global banana export. In 2004, banana producing countries totaled 130. Production, as well as exports and imports of bananas, are nonetheless concentrated in a few equatorial countries. 75% of total banana production in 2004 was generated in 10 counties. India, Ecuador, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
produced half of total bananas. Latin American and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
countries lead banana production up to the 1980s, and Asian nations took the lead in banana production during the 1990s. Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n production levels have remained mostly unchanged.
Elements of a banana plantation
Banana plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s, as well as growing the fruit, may also package, process, and ship their product directly from the plantation to worldwide markets. Depending on the scope of the operation, a plantation's size may vary from a small family farm operation to a corporate facility encompassing large tracts of land, multiple physical plants, and many employees.
Production-related activities on a plantation may include cultivating and harvesting the fruit, transporting the picked bunches to a packing shed, hanging to ripen in large bunches, dividing large bunches into smaller market-friendly bunches, sorting, labeling, washing, drying, packing, boxing, storing, refrigeration, shipping, and marketing. Depending on the scope of the operation, other activities may include drying, food preparation, tourism, and market research.
Soil
Bananas will grow and fruit under poor soil conditions but will be less productive without deep, well-drained soil; forest loam, rocky sand, marl, red laterite, volcanic ash, sandy clay, or even heavy clay. The key element in soil type for successful banana plant growth is good drainage. Alluvial soils of river valleys are ideal for banana growing. Bananas prefer an acid soil.Physical plant
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
/tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, and general maintenance.
Cultivation techniques specific to the type of banana produced may dictate the specific physical plant makeup. Much of banana cultivation since the mid-1950s has centered around a single monoculture: The Cavendish banana
Cavendish banana
The Dwarf Cavendish banana is a banana cultivar originally from Vietnam and China. It became the primary replacement for the Gros Michel banana in the 1950s after crops of the latter were devastated by the Panama disease. The name 'Dwarf Cavendish' is in reference to the height of the pseudostem,...
. The ravages of Panama Disease
Fusarium oxysporum
Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. as emended by Snyder and Hansen comprises all the species, varieties and forms recognized by Wollenweber and Reinking within an infrageneric grouping called section Elegans...
in that particular cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
may cause a shift in variety selection, subsequently causing a major change in the physical plant structure of banana plantations.
Economy
Banana growing is a significant economic engine in many banana exporting countries because it is labor intensive, delivers a relatively quick return on effort and investment, provides a weekly income year round, and the crop recovers quickly from hurricanes and other natural disasters. Banana industry exports worldwide total over 100 million tons in a market which generates over US$5 Billion per year and employs millions of workers.Farming techniques on banana plantations
Banana plantations generally follow one of four major agricultural techniques: Intensive farmingIntensive farming
Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital, labour, or heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers relative to land area....
, sustainable farming, organic farming
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
, and fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
farming.
Intensive banana farming
Intensive Banana Farming is an agricultural technique which requires clearing most if not all native vegetation from tracts of land, then densely planting and fertilizing the crop. It produces the highest yield of fruit per acre, and is viewed by environmental scientists as a technique which involves a history of high risk for damage to the local environment.Sustainable banana farming
As with broader sustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
, sustainable banana production aims to integrate three main goals: environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
stewardship
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
, farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
profit
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
ability, and prosperous farming communities
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
. Producing goods without depleting an ecosystem's natural resources is a key goal of sustainable banana farming. The further goals of farm profitability and prosperous farming communities address free market viability issues which might threaten the viability of the business, rendering the ecological sustainability efforts moot. Because of the lower per-acre crop yield and higher wage cost intrinsic to this type of farming, profitability is addressed by the introduction of a price premium charged for the product at market. Such premiums are readily paid by a segment of the consumer market which places a value on the benefits of sustainable farming.
Organic banana farming
According to the United Nations, "no information is available regarding how many hectares are currently under conversion or how many producers are planning to convert to organic production methods." However major banana producers indicate they are responding to demands for organic bananas with new facilities tailored to that market.Fair Trade banana farming
Some consumers are willing to pay a premium price for a product, including bananas, if the means of production are consistent with the philosophies of Fair TradeFair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
. The United Nations has published a description of fair trade banana production which states, "for banana producers this means they obtain a price which covers the cost of production and an additional price premium to be invested in social, environmental or quality improvements."
Early benefits in tribal/clanship culture
Certain aboriginalIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
ships benefited from early development of intensive banana cultivation by expanding previously territorial land views into concepts of cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
inter-clan trading relationships.
Labor conditions
Labor conditions in the banana industry have historically drawn attention both in criticism of the traditionally poor industry working conditions, and more recently in attempts by labor advocacy groups and some producers to improve labor conditions.Workers on banana plantations in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
have been exposed to pesticides which have been found to cause various health conditions including sterility
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
. Banana industry advocates maintain that exposure levels were too low to produce health issues, but juries in the United States found Dole Food Company
Dole Food Company
Dole Food Company, Inc. is an American-based agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Westlake Village, California. The company is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, operating with 74,300 full-time and seasonal employees who are responsible for over 300...
culpable for specific cases of worker sterility related to pesticide exposure in the late 1970s. One successful lawsuit presented evidence that Dole continued to use the pesticide DBCP
DBCP
1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane, better known as DBCP, is the active ingredient in the nematicide Nemagon, also known as Fumazone. It is a soil fumigant formerly used in American agriculture. In mammals it causes male sterility at high levels of exposure...
on banana plantations in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
after the agent was found by the manufacturer to cause health problems and was banned in California in 1977. The jury found the chemical manufacturer, Dow Chemical, 20% liable and Dole 80% liable because Dow had warned Dole of the dangers of aerial spraying in the presence of workers, yet evidence presented in court indicated Dole continued using the agent in close proximity to workers on its Nicaraguan banana plantations. Financial liability in the case was later stricken because of international jurisdiction issues, however the finding of culpability by the jury was left intact.
Child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
on banana plantations has also historically been a heated labor issue Labor unions, UNICEF, and others have resisted the use of child labor as young as 8 on banana plantations, and have won concessions in some countries such as Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, which instituted a minimum worker age of 15 years. In Sub-Saharan Africa, banana plantations have had a tradition of utilizing child labor that dates to the 1800s and thrives in modern times.