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St. Lucia and OAS Discuss Organic Bananas
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St. Lucia and OAS Discuss Organic Bananas
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Contact: John Emmanuel
Organic bananas are being viewed as one of the alternatives to conventional bananas given perceived difficulties in the sector in coming years. A workshop has been planned for September 20, 2000 to examine the project proposals and the possibilities of its implementation in the region. However, St. Lucia’s Director of Agricultural Services Julius Polius says, certain systems and structures must be put in place before the shift from conventional to organic bananas can take place. According to him, "The reality is this. Organic bananas are different to conventional bananas and that there are certain protocols and requirements that are very strict. There is the issue of certification and there is a real technical issue – can we really grow organic bananas here given the requirements? Given the limited use of fertilizers and that conventional mineral fertilizers cannot be applied, we need to consider the number of inputs into the system and I’m not sure that we’re ready for it at this point."
"You understand that organic bananas cannot be organic overnight. The conversion period is sometimes around three years minimum and throughout which you need to decide where the banana is going to sold, and is that in the organic realms or conventional? Then there is the issue of marketing arrangements and obtaining organic fertilizers, which are very expensive. All that has to be factored into the change over," Polius said. The agricultural official is of the view that, in time, organic bananas may command their own niche in the region. Farmers, he says, will have to decide upon the conversion with support from government in zoning particular areas for organic banana production. |
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Monday,
September 11, 2000 - The Ministry of Agriculture is getting ready to team up
with the Organization of American States (OAS) and Commonwealth Agricultural
Bureau (CAB) International to examine options for the production of organic
bananas.
Conventional
bananas are currently facing an up hill battle and Mr. Polius says based on that
trend his Ministry is eager to throw its support behind the move toward
producing organic bananas. He says from a policy standpoint the move harmonizes
with efforts at diversifying around and within bananas, although the
practicality of the conversion is another matter altogether.