Volunteer Asignment: Banana Production
Without potential buyers, fruit producers have no means of increasing their incomes or bringing their goods to a larger market, outside of their local communities. In the Bolivian villages of Covendo and Sapecho, located in the Alto Beni region of the Yungas, banana producers are looking to improve efficiency and their quality standards to attract potential buyers. Potential buyer s have expressed an interest in purchasing bananas from identified communities, but first, producers must meet their requisites for quality.
ACDI/VOCA provided technical assistance to these two communities with the overall goal of improving banana production processes. Dr. Thomas Menezes, Tropical Agriculture specialist from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, traveled to Bolivia in September 2003 for a two-week stay to lend his expertise to community farmers. With over twenty years of experience working with tropical fruits, Mr. Menezes helped 40 banana growers identify varieties of bananas in the region and their optimal volumes of production. He evaluated native varieties of banana, their plague resistance and marketing potential and conducted an analysis of banana production processes to review weaknesses and strengths in a potential farm-to-market chain. Working with farmers, Mr. Menezes also strengthened the post-harvest processes in order to guarantee a high quality product.
With new-found agricultural knowledge and a better understanding of market potential, the banana growers of Covendo and Sapecho hope to attract new buyers, and ultimately increase their revenues, realize higher incomes, and improve their overall standard of living.
The International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (Red Internacional de Mejoramiento del Banano y Plátano - INIBAP) provides long-term technical assistance to banana and plantain producers of the Alto Beni. As a result of ACDI/VOCA technical assistance, producers have formed the Center for Marketing Bananas from the Alto Beni (Centro de Comercialización BANABENI - Banano de Alto Beni). With funds from the YCADF, a representative from this group attended the February 2004 BIOFACH Organic Market Development Conference in Nuremberg, Germany. This fair was the first international event in which a representative from this group explored international market opportunities for organic banana and its derivatives such as banana flour, banana confectionary and handicraft products made from the leaves. ACDI/VOCA volunteer consultant and international marketing expert Nicholas Shirra accompanied Yungas producers to the fair and assisted them in making connections with potential buyers. The primary objectives of producers were achieved, including highlighting alternative development-supported products, assisting producers in identifying higher-priced markets and building relationships with potential clients.
