Banana plantation

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A banana plantation in Brazil

Women in Belize sorting bananas and cutting them from bunches.

A banana plantation is a commercial agricultural facility found in tropical climateswhere bananas are
grown.[1]

Contents
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 1Geographic distribution
 2Elements
o 2.1Soil
o 2.2Physical plant
 3Economy
 4Farming techniques
o 4.1Sustainable farming
o 4.2Organic farming
o 4.3Fair Trade farming
 5Social aspects
o 5.1Early benefits in tribal/clanship culture
o 5.2Labor conditions
 6See also
 7References

Geographic distribution[edit]
Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial
banana plantationsare primarily found in equatorial regions, in banana exporting countries. The four leading
banana export countries worldwide are Ecuador, Costa Rica, Philippines, and Colombia. Ecuador provides
more than 33% of global banana exports. 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 and China produced half of
total bananas. Latin American and Caribbean countries led banana production up to the 1980s, and Asian
nations took the lead in banana production during the 1990s. African production levels have remained mostly
unchanged.[2]

Elements[edit]

Agriculture

History

 History of organic farming

 Neolithic Revolution
 Arab Agricultural Revolution
 British Agricultural Revolution
 Green Revolution

On land

 Animal husbandry
 cattle
 pig
 poultry
 sheep

 Dairy
 Dryland
 Extensive
 Free-range
  Grazing
 Hobby
 Intensive
 animal
 crop

 Natural
 Orchard
 Organic
 Ranching
 Sharecropping
 Slash-and-burn

In water

 Aquaculture
 Aquaponics
 Hydroponics

Related

 Agribusiness
 Agricultural engineering
 Agricultural science
 Agroecology
 Agroforestry
 Agronomy
 Animal-free
 Crop diversity
 Ecology
 Livestock
 Mechanisation
 Permaculture
 Sustainable
 Urban

Lists

 Government ministries
 Universities and colleges

Categories
  Agriculture
 by country
 companies

 Biotechnology
 Livestock
 Meat industry
 Poultry farming

Agriculture and agronomy portal

 v
 t
 e

Banana plantations, 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.[1]
Soil[edit]
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.[3]
Physical plant[edit]

The Big Banana - A tourist facility on an Australian banana plantation.

Physical plants on banana plantations, aside from growing fields, may include facilities or machinery for plant
propagation, cultivation, labor housing, fertilization and pest mitigation, harvesting assists such as tractors or
overhead cable systems, washing tanks, storage buildings, boxing or bagging, shipping docks, offices, public
relations/tourism, 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. The ravages of Panama Disease in that particular cultivar may cause a shift in variety selection,
subsequently causing a major change in the physical plant structure of banana plantations.[4]
Economy[edit]
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.[5] Banana industry exports worldwide
total over 100 million tons[6] in a market which generates over US$5 billion per year [7] and employs millions of
workers.

Farming techniques[edit]
Banana plantations generally follow one of four major agricultural techniques: Intensive farming,[8] sustainable
farming,[6]organic farming,[9] and fair trade farming.
An intensive agricultural technique which requires clearing most if not all native vegetation from tracts of land,
then densely planting and fertilizing the crop may produce the highest yield of fruit per acre, but it is viewed
by environmental scientists as a technique which involves a history of high risk for damage to the local
environment,[6][10] and health risk to the agricultural workers.[11]
Sustainable farming[edit]
As with broader sustainable agriculture, sustainable banana production aims to integrate three main
goals: environmentalstewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. Producing goods
without depleting an ecosystem's natural resources is a key goal of sustainable banana farming.[12] 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.[13]
Organic farming[edit]
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." [14] However
major banana producers indicate they are responding to demands for organic bananas with new facilities
tailored to that market.[15]
Fair Trade farming[edit]
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 Trade. 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."[16]

Social aspects[edit]
Early benefits in tribal/clanship culture[edit]
Certain aboriginal clanships benefited from early development of intensive banana cultivation by expanding
previously territorial land views into concepts of cooperative inter-clan trading relationships.[17][18]
Labor conditions[edit]
Labor conditions in the banana industry have historically drawn attention both in criticism of the traditionally
poor industry working conditions,[19] and more recently in attempts by labor advocacy groups and some
producers to improve labor conditions.[20]
Workers on banana plantations in Central America have been exposed to pesticides which have been found to
cause various health conditions including sterility. Banana industry advocates maintain that exposure levels
were too low to produce health issues, but juries in the United States found Dole Food Company guilty of
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 on banana plantations in Nicaragua 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.[21][22]
Child labor on banana plantations has also historically been a heated labor issue[23] 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, which instituted a minimum worker age of 15 years.[24] In Sub-Saharan Africa,
banana plantations have had a tradition of utilizing child labor that dates to the 19th century and thrives in
modern times.[25]

See also[edit]
 All pages with a title containing banana production
 banana industry
 Franja Transversal del Norte

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b Nelson, Scott C.; Ploetz, Randy C.; Kepler, Angela Kay (2006). Elevitch, C.R., ed. "Musa
species (bananas and plantains)" (PDF). Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry: Ecological, Economic,
and Cultural Renewal. Honolulu: Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR) (ver 2.2): 1.
2. Jump up^ "Banana". United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
3. Jump up^ Morton, J. 1987. Fruits of warm climates, p. 29–46, Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.
4. Jump up^ Interview. Dan Koeppel, author of the book Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the
World Scientific American, April 2008. Transcript at: Scientific American
5. Jump up^ Edmunds, Joseph E.; Shillingford, Clayton (2005). "Report to the Prime Ministers of Windward
Islands; Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent & the Grenadines, & St. Lucia". A program for the
resuscitation of the windward islands banana industry and recommendations to contribute to its sustainability in
world trade. Dominica Academy of Arts & Sciences.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b chttp://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/content/view/67/97/lang,en/
7. Jump up^ Intergovernmental Group on Bananas and on Tropical Fruit
8. Jump up^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Commodities and trade - Bananas
9. Jump up^ Dole Inaugurates Organic Banana Farming in Colombia
10. Jump up^ "Environmental Impacts of Banana Growing". Pacific Lutheran University. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
11. Jump up^ BANANAS! - the film that triggered Big Boys
12. Jump up^ Lovgren, Stefan (2008-04-22). "Remote University Cultivating World's "Green" Leaders". National
Geographic News. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
13. Jump up^ Lovgren, Stefan (2008-05-06). ""Green" Banana Farming Gains Industry Appeal". National
Geographic News. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
14. Jump up^http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/MEETING/004/Y1767e.HTM#P25_1982
15. Jump up^http://www.dole.com/CompanyInfo/PressRelease/PressReleaseDetail.jsp?ID=1019
16. Jump up^ THE MARKET FOR "FAIR-TRADE" BANANAS
17. Jump up^ Kodesh, Neil (2008-07-01). "Networks of knowledge: clanship and collective well-being in
buganda". The Journal of African History. United Kingndom: Cambridge University Press. 11 (1): 39–
72. doi:10.1017/S0021853708003629. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
18. Jump up^ Schoenbrun, David L. (2008-02-08). "Cattle herds and banana gardens: the historical geography of
the western Great Lakes region, ca AD 800–1500". African Archaeological Review. 20: 75–83.
19. Jump up^ Mlot, Christine (2004). "Greening the World's Most Popular Fruit". National Wildlife. 42 (2): 18–
19.
20. Jump up^http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/research/researchcentres/CGLR/events/09012008.html
21. Jump up^ Tellez et al. v. Dole Food Co. et al., 26 Toxic Torts Litigation Reporter No. BC312852 (Cal. Super.
Ct., L.A. County March 7, 2008).
22. Jump up^ Spano, John. - "Dole must pay farmworkers $3.2 million". - Los Angeles Times. - November 6, 2007.
23. Jump up^ PIA - Philippine Information Agency Child laborers spotted in banana farms June 11, 2007.
Accessed January 07, 2009]
24. Jump up^ UNICEF - Accord Signed to Eliminate Child Labor on Banana Plantations July 25, 2002. Retrieved
January 07, 2009.
25. Jump up^ Loretta Elizabeth Bass. Child Labor in Sub-Saharan AfricaLynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder CO,
2004, ISBN 1-58826-286-3, ISBN 978-1-58826-286-8 p.32

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