MANILA – The country’s banana producers on Monday denounced the recent move of the Davao del Norte government to destroy the biosecurity installations used to protect farms from a virus feared worldwide that could cause the eradication of Cavendish bananas.
The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) wants “cooler heads” to intervene in what the industry sees as “coercion” by local politicians who may be unaware of the danger their actions bear on the future of the country’s top agricultural export earner.
In a statement, PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig said the provincial government of Davao del Norte, “in its zeal to clear all road obstructions, may inadvertently help destroy the same industry that is paying huge amounts of taxes that pay for the services provided to their constituents.”
Target of the road clearing operation allegedly ordered by Davao del Norte governor Edwin Jubahib are the gates to the plantation managed by Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) in Barangay Tanglaw, Dujali; El Canto Road in Barangay Balagunan; and Bugtong Lubi Road in Barangay Bobongan in the said province.
The provincial government allegedly wanted to remove the biosecurity features, such as temporary entry barriers, that help guide the public to go through “tire dips” and insecticide sprays for passing vehicles and “footbaths” for pedestrians entering the plantation.
The biosecurity facilities are crucial in preventing the spread of the Panama disease or fusarium wilt.
PBGEA chairman Alberto Bacani pointed out that biosecurity facilities, as a matter of national concern, should not be seen as traffic obstruction.
“These should be seen as a protective measure which helps the community in its income generation,” Bacani said in a statement.
“If you remove these facilities, you destroy the people’s source of income,” he noted.
In areas where there are no biosecurity facilities, Bacani said, Panama disease has already affected banana plantations in barangays of Kimamon, La Libertad, Salvacion, Talomo, Lunga-og, Casig-ang, Balagunan, Tibal-og and Kinamayan, all in Davao del Norte.
About 2,402 hectares of banana plantations were reported to have been affected by the disease and packing houses covering 300 hectares had already shut down. (PNA)
