The Sixth International Conference on Bananas, which started on Wednesday in Miami, discussed the serious threat of the Fusarium 4 fungus and what science is doing to combat it, including the creation of resistant bananas, something that is already being worked by many countries, such as China and Brazil.
"We'll be able to continue eating bananas and generating many jobs," said Jorge A. Sauma, the general manager of the National Banana Corporation of Costa Rica (Corbana), which, together with the Association for Research and Integrated Management of Banana and Plantain (Acorbat), organized the conference.
Sauma stated he was convinced that innovation and technology could beat the Fusarium 4, the most serious of the threats on the banana industry, according to the Sixth International Conference on Bananas, which will conclude on Friday morning.
Eduardo Gomez, a banana producer and chairman of the board of Corbana, stressed that the solution would come from the scientific community and said that, given the magnitude of the problem, the sector might have to find a new variety of banana.
"Scientists around the world are working in that direction. It is not easy, but we can do it," he said.
But both stressed that, before these scientific efforts produce results, authorities, producers, marketers, and other industry players had to be aware of the need to stop the Fusarium 4 from spreading and prevent it from getting to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The fungus is present in Africa, Australia, the Philippines, Jordan, and Lebanon, Sauma said, stressing the need to establish containment barriers for this fungus that is in the land and that can move from one country to another, for example in the shoes of a person who has visited a banana plantation.
The conference in Miami is expected to issue a statement about the need to take preventive measures against this fungus, from fencing farms and only having a single entry to them, to supplying devices that disinfect shoes at airports.
Another measure is to avoid holding international meetings in banana producing countries, which is why this conference was held in Miami.
Gomez acknowledged that no measure would fully protect them against the fungus, but he said they had to take action and that not doing anything would be worse.
The banana industry fears that the Fusarium 4 can be as or more harmful than the Panama disease, a fungus that wreaked havoc and produced millions of dollars in losses to the banana industry in the 50s and 60s.
The Panama disease practically ended the Michelle Gross banana variety, which was replaced by the Cavendish variety, currently the most traded variety in the world, which might suffer the same fate because of the Fosarium 4.
Gomez and Sauma stressed that scientists from several countries were already creating varieties resistant to the fungus, the greatest threat to an industry and livelihood of millions of people worldwide.
According to sources, representatives of China and Brazil stated that they are studying some varieties resistant to the Fosarium 4.
Honduras is also crossing varieties and there is similar research in Taiwan, Australia, USA, Holland, and other countries.
There's even a great Filipino producer that says he is already cultivating a variety which the fungus does not attack, said Sauma.
According to Gomez, it is necessary to devote more resources to research and international organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) should provide assistance.
If the solution is creating varieties that are resistant to the Fusarium race 4, they must taste good to the consumers and they can't affect productivity, Gomez said.
More than a thousand people, including researchers, scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs, engineers and technicians from 34 countries on five continents, participated in the VI International Conference of Banana, which is also the XXI international meeting of Acorbat.
The world currently produces 107 million tons of banana a year, 60 million in Asia, 27 million in America, 17 million in Africa and 3 million in Europe and Oceania, according to figures released by Gabriel Elejalde, the head of Acorbat, in the conference.
According to the FAO, more than 130 countries in the world produce bananas, the most popular fruit and the fourth largest crop in the world.
Source: EFE