|
A campaign postcard |
Bananas are the fifth most important food
commodity in world trade, with sales valued at $7.5 billion in 1993, according
to a campaigners' guide to the banana trade produced by Farmers' Link. The
campaign aims to promote fair trade in bananas and support for countries whose
economy is dependent on this fruit, notably many Caribbean countries. Prices to
farmers, and the ability to farm ecologically, are threatened by the inclusion
of agriculture in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Growing
global demand, now 10kg a head a year in the UK, has increased planted areas,
destroying tens of thousands of hectares of forest land. The consequences
include soil erosion and pesticide contamination in rivers, water-courses and
marine coastal ecosystems. Consumer demand for a uniform shape and colour calls
for high chemical inputs. There are alternatives. In the Philippines, farmers on
Negros island grow a local species, which remains organic. Its bitter-sweet
taste appeals to the Japanese market, where 'green' consumers pay a premium.
Just Green Bananas-UK campaigners' guide to the banana trade, Farmers' Link, 38-40 Exchange Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1AX, Fax +44 (0) 1603 761645, pp. 28, £1.50. Video £10.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 30,
December 1995, page 19]