Ecuadorian Government raises the 'Fusarium' to pandemic level, only 13% of banana areas ready to face the Fusarium

Ecuador's message to the global banana community is clear: Fusarium is not just a pest; it is a lethal pandemic for bananas that currently has no solution and that threatens one of the most important industries for the Ecuadorian economy.

According to Ecuador's Central Bank (BCE), last year the banana sector generated more than $ 3.669 billion in sales abroad, accounting for 24.5% of total non-oil exports. However, its importance does not only lie in international exports, since the activity is closely linked with many other sectors: input suppliers, industries that manufacture plastic covers and fruit protectors, cardboard boxes, transport companies, containers, services logistics, ports, aerial fumigation against black sigatoka, generators of meristem plants for sowing and reseeding, exporters, customs, and certifying services, among others.

The Government has delegated to the COE (Committee of Emergency Operations) the responsibility of protecting the country from this plague, as its arrival would have a strong impact on the Ecuadorian economy. This is backed by data (it should be remembered last year the country exported 380 million boxes of bananas): for example, banana boxes account for 90% of the cardboard industry's turnover; the banana sector accounts for 50% of the input industry's sales; it also generates more than 6,700 weekly ground freights in the field of logistics, as trucks take containers to the ports on a daily basis, and 65% of the export port and shipping movement is generated by bananas.

In fact, five ports in Ecuador depend on this fruit. The most important ones are located in Guayaquil: Contecon, TPG (Terminal Portuario de Guayaquil), Bananapuerto (Dole) and DP World Posorja; Puerto Bolivar, which is managed by the Turkish group Yilport, in El Oro.

The banana sector also generates 275,000 direct and indirect jobs, and leaves $ 340 million in tax burden, according to the Marketing and Export Association.

Only 13% of banana areas ready to face the Fusarium

In Ecuador, only 13% of the Musaceae producing areas (banana, plantain, orito, among others) have complete infrastructure related to biosecurity measures against Fusarium Race 4.

In other words, some 45,000 out of 350,000 hectares planted nationwide have cleaning stations, waste catchment areas and regularly fumigate. On the other hand, another 22% comply only with some of the biosafety measures.

The Banana Cluster, which groups five organizations of producers and exporters of the fruit, pointed out that these figures are worrying and, in fact, are underestimated.

Jonathan Ortiz, small producer and owner of a farm, recognizes that the pest is dangerous and more devastating than the black leaf streak, since although the crop dies, the pathogen is able to survive and spread in neighboring plantations

Ortiz says that he was going to fence the farm and build a foot disinfection area (footbath). The investment for these jobs was USD 9,000 and they were to be carried out at the end of 2019, but the money was not given. Now he aspires to get a loan to equip himself.

A few kilometers from this farm is the farm of Alexander Mejía, a medium-sized banana producer that has 23 hectares. Unlike Ortiz, this banana company stopped taking actions against Fusarium.

Mejía says that until January of last year he was spraying vehicles and people with quaternary ammonium before entering the farm. The tasks were done with backpack pumps and had a monthly cost of almost USD 300.

But the situation got complicated when they stopped paying the official price of the box, the costs of supplies and fuels went up. “We cannot make that expense, when we need supplies that are becoming more and more expensive.”

The State Portfolio maintains a process of dissemination and monitoring of the implementation of biosecurity measures and conducts field monitoring to detect any news about the pest.

Meanwhile, the risk is getting closer. Last April, the plague was detected in Piura, northern Peru.

The MAG set up four technical tables since July to address the problem of Fusarium Race 4, and until the end of August it plans to have an emergency plan to prevent the entry of the fungus. One of the tables is for financing, to define lines of credit and financial incentives for the farms to equip themselves.

The prefectures of the producing areas, such as El Oro, Los Ríos and Guayas, carry out information campaigns with banana growers, especially with the smallest ones, to warn of the risk that the devastating plague implies reaching Ecuador. MAG is also working on the process so that a variety resistant to Fusarium Race 4 can be imported.