18 banana plantations suspended in Laos
“It has been a problem for the environment as the Chinese companies destroy the environment with their heavy use of chemicals,” a provincial official reported.
The companies have also planted banana trees in areas where they aren’t permitted, the official said.
“The Chinese investors also plant outside of the areas where they have approval from the government,” the official explained. “Therefore, the planting is [now] banned.”
The ban went into effect at the beginning of 2017 and covers banana plantations mainly in Tonpheung and Huayxai districts.
With the backing of Chinese investors, banana plantations have cropped up all over Laos, but the environmental impacts have been felt mostly in northern provinces like Bokeo.
Instead of growing the native “kuay nam” banana, the Chinese plantations generally produce the world's top banana, the Cavendish.
While the Cavendish is the most popular banana, growing it in the northern provinces requires the use of a cornucopia of pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides, and fertilizers to boost production and ward off the 28 diseases and 19 insects that attack banana plants.
The use of the chemicals has helped the banana plantations thrive, but they have also leached into the ground water, and the thousands of plastic packages that the chemicals were packed in have been strewn across the countryside. In one case, the pollution was blamed for a death.
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