Bananas unpeeled
Small farmers in the Caribbean used to enjoy a level of sustainability from trade with the UK (UK is the only market for small producers in the Caribbean).
The main change over the last 20 years is that retailers are moving away from buying from small producers in the Caribbean to sourcing from large plantations in Latin America and, increasingly, from West Africa.
Land that was previously not used for export agriculture in West Africa is being taken over for these plantations which require the use of deadly chemicals. Workers frequently have to work 10 hours a day or more of hard labour and suffer from a range of illnesses caused by the chemicals, including skin burns, vomiting and breathing problems, sometimes resulting in death. Women are away from their families for most of the day and this often causes domestic problems, including domestic violence.
Meanwhile, small farmers in the Caribbean are going out of business (over the last decade or so more than 20,000 small farmers have left the banana sector – from 25,000 to less than 4,000 today). These farmers are often unable to make a living from growing food for the local population, largely because of competition from subsidised food from the US and Europe, and also because young people want to be educated to get better jobs. They either abandon their farms to migrate elsewhere or they stay and resort to growing drugs in order to survive.
What is the issue?
The issue is that supermarkets are selling bananas at below the cost of sustainable production. It is cheaper to buy bananas that have been grown in West Africa and exported to Britain than it is to buy locally grown apples and pears. We have grown to have unrealistic expectations about the price of imported food.
What is the solution?
Fairtrade is part of the solution, because producers are guaranteed a sustainable living, and Fairtrade standards have an impact on the health and wellbeing of the community, as well as greater protection of the environment, but Fairtrade only accounts for a third of the bananas sold in the UK.
The main solution is for supermarkets to charge a fair and realistic price for their bananas to ensure that producers are paid a price that covers the cost of production, including decent living standards for workers.
Small farmers in the Caribbean used to enjoy a level of sustainability from trade with the UK (UK is the only market for small producers in the Caribbean).
The main change over the last 20 years is that retailers are moving away from buying from small producers in the Caribbean to sourcing from large plantations in Latin America and, increasingly, from West Africa.
Land that was previously not used for export agriculture in West Africa is being taken over for these plantations which require the use of deadly chemicals. Workers frequently have to work 10 hours a day or more of hard labour and suffer from a range of illnesses caused by the chemicals, including skin burns, vomiting and breathing problems, sometimes resulting in death. Women are away from their families for most of the day and this often causes domestic problems, including domestic violence.
Meanwhile, small farmers in the Caribbean are going out of business (over the last decade or so more than 20,000 small farmers have left the banana sector – from 25,000 to less than 4,000 today). These farmers are often unable to make a living from growing food for the local population, largely because of competition from subsidised food from the US and Europe, and also because young people want to be educated to get better jobs. They either abandon their farms to migrate elsewhere or they stay and resort to growing drugs in order to survive.
What is the issue?
The issue is that supermarkets are selling bananas at below the cost of sustainable production. It is cheaper to buy bananas that have been grown in West Africa and exported to Britain than it is to buy locally grown apples and pears. We have grown to have unrealistic expectations about the price of imported food.
What is the solution?
Fairtrade is part of the solution, because producers are guaranteed a sustainable living, and Fairtrade standards have an impact on the health and wellbeing of the community, as well as greater protection of the environment, but Fairtrade only accounts for a third of the bananas sold in the UK.
The main solution is for supermarkets to charge a fair and realistic price for their bananas to ensure that producers are paid a price that covers the cost of production, including decent living standards for workers.