Global partnership will cooperate to combat pest that has become a threat to bananas

Representatives from the private sector, academia, civil society organizations, state entities and international organizations took a major step in combating a pest that puts the continuity of banana cultivation and, by extension, the planet's food security at risk.

The Global Partnership for Cooperation in the Fight against Fusarium TR4 was formally established with the primary objective of containing the spread of the so-called “banana pandemic” and, in the medium and long term, investigating and developing genetic improvement solutions.

Faced with the need to act immediately, several actors committed to the sustainability of agriculture agreed, in January 2020, to work together to help defeat this disease, whether by predicting its spread, investing in genetic development or educating consumers.

The Partnership was formally established in a virtual event that included the participation of Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); Jorge Sauma, Assistant Executive Director of Corporación Bananera Nacional (CORBANA) of Costa Rica; Sara Boettiger, Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability at Bayer's Agricultural Science Division; Ronald Guendel, Global Director of Food Value Chains at Bayer; Andrew Biles, General Manager of Chiquita Brands International; Jeroen Kroezen, International Programs Coordinator at Rede Solidariedade; Ernst van der Ende, Professor at the Department of Phytopathology at Wageningen University (Netherlands); and Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

As determined by its members, IICA will act as the Partnership's secretariat, whose mission is to support the banana sector in the face of the challenges presented by TR4 through the development of knowledge, technologies and mechanisms that allow finding a definitive scientific solution that favors the eradication of the fungus.

“Defeating TR4 is a global challenge and, consequently, needs a global effort. This is why the Global Partnership’s work against TR4 is crucial. It brings together actors from all regions and all specialties, which will allow each one to contribute their knowledge and resources”, said Guendel.

Bananas are cultivated in 135 countries on five continents and not only play a central role in global food security, but are also a way of life for those who work in their cultivation, transport and marketing. It is estimated that 400 million people depend on bananas as a food or source of income.

The Tropical Race 4 (TR4) strain of the Fusarium fungus is a disease for which there is currently no treatment, which is transmitted through the soil and devastates crops.

It is the biggest threat in more than half a century for a crop that is especially important for vulnerable populations, who obtain up to a quarter of the calories they consume daily from bananas.

Although it originated in Asia, TR4 moved westward and, in 2019, was detected in Colombia, which raised alarms in the tropical areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose countries are among the largest producers and exporters of banana in the world.

Currently, the only effective way to stop the spread of the disease is to burn the affected land, which cannot be used again, as the disease may reappear.

“If we all collaborate, we will have the best opportunity to save the banana and, with it, the livelihoods and nutrition of countless people around the world,” added Guendel.

For his part, the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, indicated that “we are strongly motivated to work with the Partnership in the search for solutions to a disease that we have seen expanding across the world in recent years and that has strong economic and social impacts, as bananas are strongly linked to global food security.”

TR4 attacks the Cavendish banana variety, which constitutes half of world production, in addition to 95% of exports, and is also the one with the largest market share in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cavendish was the solution found around 70 years ago, due to its natural resistance to another Fusarium fungus disease — the so-called Race 1 — which, in the first half of the XNUMXth century, ended with the Gros Michel banana species, dominant until then. .

Among the activities that the Partnership will carry out are: scientific research and publication of reports and studies; technology transfer and advice to producers; training, through seminars and courses; and dissemination of information in books, magazines, bulletins and conventional and digital media.

The partnership will have three permanent working groups: Training and Prevention will focus on early detection of the disease, hygiene measures and the eradication of infected plants to limit contagion.

Genetics and Cultivation will seek to develop new varieties resistant to TR4, with the aim of ensuring the long-term health of the banana sector.

Finally, Chemical and Biological Control Methods will work on creating innovative products to protect crops that promote plant health, activating their natural defenses to overcome and cure infections and eliminate insects, diseases and other disease transmitters.

The Partnership will seek the contribution of international donors to carry out a task that is essential to ensure the continuity of banana cultivation as we know it today and, thus, contribute to strengthening food security and the source of income for millions of people in the world.