Beloved fruit faces devastating collapse as threat worsens for farms: 'What has been happening is death'
The report, appropriately titled Going Bananas, was commissioned by Christian Aid and found that by 2080, there could be a 60% reduction in the area suitable for bananas grown for exports.
There are many banana varieties, but almost all bananas sold to developed nations are Cavendish. These are chosen for their high yields, long shelf life, distinctive coloring, and taste. Because the global market is so heavily dependent on a single variant, Cavendish bananas are particularly vulnerable to warming temperatures, extreme weather, and disease.
The authors of the report spoke to several banana farmers, including Aurelia, 53, from Guatemala, who said: "What is happening is that my plantation has been dying. So, what has been happening is death. Death to my crops."
The Cavendish can be grown between 15 and 35 degrees Celsius and is sensitive to water shortages and flooding. Rising temperatures caused by pollution from dirty energy sources result in more frequent and severe extreme weather events that can destroy crop yields. Warmer temperatures also make fungal infections more widespread.
Bananas as a crop were nearly wiped out in the 1950s by Panama disease, per Time, and the Cavendish became successful because it was a variety of banana more resistant to it, but it's hardly inconceivable that a new variant of Panama disease could emerge.
Bananas are a key cash crop and food source for millions across the Caribbean and Latin America. Eighty percent of banana exports come from this area. Additionally, 400 million people rely on bananas for a substantial portion of their daily calories.
What makes the problem so tragic is that the people on the sharp edge of the crisis had so little to do with creating it. For example, Guatemala is the eighth-largest producer of bananas worldwide, per World Population Review, but is responsible for just 0.052% of the world's harmful pollution, according to Worldometer.
As Osai Ojigho, Christian Aid's director of policy and campaigns, told The Guardian, "The lives and livelihoods of people who have done nothing to cause the climate crisis are already under threat."
The study calls for a multifaceted approach to mitigating the future crisis. The first is reducing global pollution. The second is providing targeted support for farmers and transitioning to more just and sustainable food systems.
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