The regional director of Agriculture in Piura, engineer Mario Laberry Saavedra, is concerned about the low productivity of banana crops - between 1,200 and 1,400 boxes per hectare a year.
That is why he has set up demonstration plots and Farmer's Field Schools (FFS) to teach producers how to boost productivity and reach an average of 2,000 to 2,500 boxes per hectare per year; a figure that is achievable, as there are some producers in the region who are getting 3,000 boxes per hectare a year.
In addition, the Public Investment project: "Improving the competitiveness of the organic banana production chain to improve the exportable supply in the Region of Piura" is being implemented, and 36% of it has been completed.
Engineer, Axel Herrera Seminario, coordinator of the PIP Organic Banana, said that they had installed 12 demonstration plots to evaluate the growth and phenological development of the Williams banana variety, as well as a monitoring and early warning of pests system, through a network of 10 weather stations.
This system is structured to prevent the establishment of pests in the crop through the forecast of favorable weather conditions for their development, detecting and identifying the presence of pests in the field, and developing control measures that minimize crop damage.
He said that, so far, the PIP Organic Banana had conducted 273 training courses on Good organic farming practices, and that they had performed technical visits to 2,360 producers and trained 6,537 producers.
He added that they had installed 162 Agricultural Field Schools with more than 2,000 farmers, which were an alternative for the training of people in rural areas, and that this could lead to profound changes in the conception of development.
Data:
The PIP Organic Banana runs through 6 components, with a budget of 9,700,000 soles.
Its scope of implementation includes: Querecotillo, Salitral, Bellavista, Marcavelica, Ignacio Escudero, Miguel Checa (Sullana), Tambo Grande (Piura), Chulucanas, Buenos Aires, Batanes, Carrasquillo, Morropón, La Matanza (Morropon), Pueblo Nuevo de Colan, La Huaca, Macacara, and El Arenal (Paita).
Source: walac.pe