How are Bananas Grown?

Around 80% of bananas sold in the UK come from large-scale plantations in Latin America and, increasingly West Africa. Intensive methods of production are used to maximise productivity creating high quantities of waste and pollution, soil erosion, deforestation and a steady increase in pests and diseases that can only be fought with more harmful pesticides.

Bananas produced for export consume the largest volume of chemicals of any crop except cotton and the use of over 400 agrochemicals in the banana industry is – literally - fatal for both workers and their environment. Pesticides are also used because supermarkets, multinational companies and in turn EU regulation demand perfect looking bananas without spots or blemishes. Companies claim that cosmetically perfect uniform looking bananas are what consumers want! It has nothing to do with the taste.

Bananas from the Caribbean tend to be grown on small family owned farms that use much more sustainable methods of production.

Click here to download a diagram of how the banana supply chain works.

Guides to How Bananas Grow!

From a Banana Farmer in St. Vincent

An Illustrated Guide Produced by Oxfam

Detailed Information From the FAO

Monoculture and Soil Fertility

There are more than 300 varieties of bananas in the world, but most of the world’s banana trade is based on just one of those, the ‘Cavendish’.  Banana plants are propagated vegetatively which means that they are genetically identical to the parent stock. The lack of genetic variety makes the banana plants more susceptible to pests, fungi and disease, increasing the need for pesticides. Once a disease establishes itself, it can easily sweep through a crop of genetically identical crops.  The humid and warm tropical climates in which export bananas are grown are ideal for banana growing is one in which fungi and other infections thrive.  Growing just a single variety of banana, without any crop rotation, destroys the fertility of the soil; add to that the heavy metal residues left by chemical inputs and the land is rendered unusable after banana production ceases.

Deforestation and Drainage Canals

Bananas thrive in the same ecosystem as tropical coastal rainforests, so the expansion of plantations has usually been at the direct expense of primary or secondary forest.  Although deforestation has slowed because most coastal forest has already been cut, some companies are still expanding into virgin forest. The planting of bananas right up to riverbanks has exacerbated soil erosion which, in combination with extensive man-made drainage systems, has increased flooding risks in the surrounding areas.

The deposition of sediment which holds large quantities of nutrients from fertilisers kills fish and other aquatic life and has contributed to the destruction of approximately 90% of the coral reefs along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

Waste

Banana production creates a massive amount of waste; the plastic bags treated with a toxic insecticide used to protect the bananas from disease and damage; the plastic string to hold up the trees; the remains of the tree once it has produced bananas, and fruit which do not meet ‘quality’ standards. It is estimated that for every ton of bananas shipped, two tons of waste is left behind, not least mountains of chemical-coated plastic.Waste products end up in waterways, increasing sedimentation and water poisoning and almost no composting of banana waste takes place on conventional plantations.

Visit Exporting Regions - Latin America to read more about production methods on plantations.

Visit Alternatives for further reading