Farmers fear collapse of country's banana industry

Monday, February 20, 2012

MORE and more banana farmers are convinced that the Philippine banana industry may not survive the slow but devastating effect of Panama wilt plant disease in the next five to ten years.

"We can no longer control it anymore. It's embedded deep into the soil of many banana plantations in Davao," says Rene Dalayon, president and chief executive officer of the Federation of Banana Cooperatives in Davao (Fedco).

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Dalayon said he was in touch with an Australian banana farmer who told him that the Panama disease has nearly wiped out many of the banana plantations in northern Australia where most of this industry is located.

"It took only five years for Panama wilt to wipe out many of the banana plantations in Australia despite their best technology available to fight the plant disease," Dalayon said.

What makes the Panama plant disease so dangerous is the way it attacks the terminal roots of the banana plant, sapping up all its sources of energy and life, weakening the entire plant and leaving it dead, according to Dalayon.

"We're still looking for ways to fight this plant disease to keep our banana plants alive as long as possible because most of us still depend on exporting bananas to survive," he said.

Threatened by this growing problem, banana farmers had been forced to look for alternative high-value crops as a hedge against any possible collapse of the banana industry, according to Dalayon, a recent awardee of Entrepreneur of the Year awards by Ernst and Young World Awards.

Fedco, a big federation of around 16 banana cooperatives in the Davao Region, has recently expanded its scope to include other high value crops, specially cacao and palm oil which are now being implemented in Davao del Norte province.

Fedco farmers who are mostly agrarian reform beneficiaries, are delighted and highly motivated, according to Dalayon, because of the support given to them by the Department of Agriculture, Land Bank of the Philippines, the Davao del Norte Governor's office, the US Department of Agriculture, ACDI-VOCA and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.