Dominica’s banana industry is feeling the brunt of an early dry season, says Business Manager of the Dominica National Fairtrade Organisation Davidson Lloyd.
Dominica has been known for having abundant rainfall assisting it in growing fruit and agricultural produce, but Lloyd said the banana sector is now “suffering” from the drought-like conditions, and “we have to pray for the rain”.
“Bananas are about 80 to ninety 90 water. The plant can go down very quickly when it doesn’t have enough water and it affects the whole growth and development of bunches… The plants cannot do without water very well and we are suffering the effects of that,” he expounded.
Recent ashfall on Dominica from the collapse of a lava dome on Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano is another problem facing banana growth.
“That dust is still there, and being that it’s still dry, the dust can settle between the fingers of the fruit and cause scarring, which is really unsightly when the fruit reaches the market, and that is another problem for us.
“We are advising our growers to do the best they can to reject the old fruit and not pack it in the box because it’s gonna be worse for us in terms of our overall quality…and we securing the business with regards to fair trade bananas in the UK,” Lloyd cautioned.
This is nothing new. Everyone who knows their seasons will know that we are in the Cawem season. Traditionally dry! Just this year it is epecially dry due to the El Nino effect.
But anyway we have three lakes in Dominica. Why have we not got the structure in place to divert water back into the rivers?
I agree that banana dead. In fact it so dead it buried and resurrect already. We have been talking about diversifying for a long time but have not considered drought resistant crops. Naerly all cash crops are water dependent by nature. But by being a bit creative and thinking outside the box we could have come up with something that we can harvest in the dry months.
@steve…i was just starting to wonder what planet you came from??
@ steve . IN AUGUST U GO SCHOOL? WHAT THE GVMENT HAVE TO DO WITH THAT? U PPL JUST QUICK TO JUMP ON THE GVMENT BACK… SMH ! ITS TO DO WITH THE WEATHER ! GEEZ !
To have a “good” irrigation system in a mountainous and “hilly” country like Dominica would cost an arm and a leg. Already the cost of cultivating bananas in Dominica is way to high, making it uncompetitive on the international market. People prefer to buy bananas that are cheaper to produce like Dole because if it is cheap to produce then naturally it is cheap to buy.
To invest in an irrigation system for bananas in Dominica would make it more expensive to produce and hence more expensive to buy. This certainly cannot beat the competition.
I agree with Karkabeff. The age of banana being the greed gold is long gone. The WTO killed it when it ruled that the LOME Convention (which protected our bananas on the international market) was unfair international trading. We cannot depend on the industry as the mainstay of our economy.
This is a clear indication that the governtment have turned their backs on farming and farmers. We have had years to develop our farming in the nature island by use of irrigation systems and here it is we are complaining about lack of water in a land of 365 rivers.
why do we have to depend on the Gov’t for everything…policy makers can only give this much….saying irrigation is one thing but getting these projects implemented is another…wat we need is positive farmers who are not only concerned with making money but ensuring that the crops are of quality from cultivation until it is consumed.
That banana thing again! Garson I just feel its time we pay closer attention to diversification in the agricultural sector to minimize the impact that troubles with fig can bring economically. Just too much problems when it comes to selling fig even if that is what send me to school. Time to move on…..