The banana producers from northern Huila said they were in a crisis and that the Government wasn't helping them. They stated that there had been a decrease in the crop production because of the high temperatures in the region, and that they don't have enough resources for their homes.
Previously their crops yielded between 70,000 to 80,000 kilos of bananas, a figure that has fallen by a large proportion. According to the banana producers, the summer caused by El Nino phenomenon in recent months has led them to a crisis for which they see no end.
There are currently about 15,000 hectares of banana that remain planted in some farms in the municipality of Tello and that belong to various associations in charge of handling the fruit. The owners of these crops, however, fear they will lose them because of the strong heat waves .
According to Emelias Rodriguez, one of the banana producers from Tello, they take this fruit to Bogota and to Neiva, but that there was currently a scarcity of bananas in these cities because of El Niño.
"The situation of the banana sector in Tello is very complicated because summer has affected our crops too much. The banana is disappearing because of El Niño. We're in a very tough crisis. The banana crops is one of the most important productions in the region and there currently is a very serious crisis. This makes it very critical to survive in the region and there are no resources," said Rodriguez.
Producers said that they hadn't received support from the departmental and national government, despite having informed them about the crisis they had faced because of the winter and the current crisis caused by the summer.
"We've marched for a long time, we have made a number of proposals for the agricultural sector, we have had crisis after crisis, but investment in agriculture has been very minimal. Currently, it's very hard for producers to get a loan with the banks because hey won't be able to pay it back, as production is being lost," said Emelias Rodriguez.
The banana producers from this region reiterated that the Colombian government needed to exercise greater investment in technical assistance, as well as subsidies for their crops, and that they felt abandoned by the national and departmental government.
Source: lanacion.com.co