Santa Elena bets on organic bananas

Most of the area dedicated to banana cultivation is focused on organic fruit.

The Santa Elena peninsula is increasingly introduced to the cultivation of organic bananas. The plantations of this fruit have been growing and most of it is focused on growing a banana free of chemicals during its planting and growing process.

Lands that were virgin in the southern part of the province have welcomed new plantations in recent years. According to data fromDepartment of agriculture,in that coastal province there are1,940.79 hectares of bananas, of which 1,537.37 are organic fruit.

The banana hectarage planted corresponds to about 20 properties, although there is a non-regularized area. The Ministry estimates that approximately 15% to 20% are not regularized.

Banana growers estimate that currently the planted area may be 3,000 hectares, between the previous ones and those that are being cultivated.

During 2019, Santa Elena exported 64,754 boxes of bananas of 43 pounds per week and in 2020, the weekly average was 79,064 43-pound boxes, according to the Ministry.

The peninsular organic banana leaves mainly to countries in Europe and the United States, where there are consumers who demand fruit free of agrochemicals.

Richard Salazar, Executive Director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec),argues that the area of ​​the Santa Elena peninsula has specialized in organic bananas due to climatic factors and because it is virgin land.

"The advantages of sowing in Santa Elena are important, because they are virgin soils," says Salazar.

FruitSevenis a company that grew organic bananas near the El Azúcar desert area. Its fruit goes to the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Another part goes to Israel under the codekosher.

Jackie Eldan, manager of that company, argues that in developed countries there is increasing awareness of healthy foods and the impact that conventional products with harmful compounds can have.

At the productivity level, the results depend a lot on the field work and the experience of the farmer. Eldan says that in the world of organic bananas if someone reaches 2,000 boxes per hectare per year it is a decent thing. A range of 1,800 boxes is the limit, because less than that begins the losses. With conventional bananas you can get more boxes.

Organically producing banana growers have been incorporating innovations in order to improve processes and respond to the demanding standards of some markets. For example,FruitSevenIt implemented pools for washing bananas with surgical-grade stainless steel edges, in order to avoid the presence of fungi. Other farms have followed this trend.

One of the concerns that not only banana producers have, but also other crops is related to the provision of water at certain times of the year in Santa Elena and Guayas. Acornabec, AEBE and Agroban, unions of the banana sector, gave the alert months ago about the permanent risk of water shortages in the Daule-Santa Elena Transfer system.

The unions, which have held meetings with the authorities, allege that there is a risk of water shortages due to lack of maintenance and the replacement of the pumping units at the Daule station.

Last January, thePublic Water CompanyMaintained and cleaned the canal protection barriers at the Daule-Santa Elena Pumping Station to strengthen the operation of the pumps.