GROWING BANANAS, AVOCADO & GUAVAS

Bananas have covered the landscape in Honde Valley, bringing much needed income to the locals. As much benefit as this brings, there is also a downside. Bananas have become a monocrop. This is neither good for the communities or the environment. Let me explain.

With everyone growing bananas, it has increased supply, and therefore decreased the price. The price is currently at 16c/kg, a decrease from 25c/kg. Bananas are now also being grown commercially by farmers in Bundura, in Mashonaland West, which is not typically a banana growing region. So this has further increased the supply of bananas, causing the price to drop. To add to that, due to Russia/Ukraine war, fertilisers have doubled in price from about $30 to $60, for a 50kg bag. Zimbabwe imports fertiliser from Ukraine. This has affected the farmers immensely as they depend on fertilisers to boost their produce, and their overall profits have been affected. The other issue to consider is that farmers buys inputs like fertilisers in US Dollars, but when they sell, they are forced to sell in the local ZW RTGS currency. It currently stands at $1USD to 1300 RTGS. So at the moment, unless you are producing very large quantities, bananas and other crops, are currently not profitable.

I would like to add that though there is abundant supply of bananas, in talking to buyers, Honde Valley bananas are the most preferred, for their size and taste.

The other issue is water supply. Bananas need lots of heat and water to produce good fruit. This is the reason they have become popular in Honde Valley, because it has the perfect climate. So every farmer is buying pipes, unregulated and of all sizes, and going to the nearest stream, river to channel water to their plantation. In the rainy season (November to April), when water is plentiful, there are no issues. Problems arise in the summer months (August to November), when there is very little water to go around. With everyone competing for the same water sources, it is causing unrest and conflict between locals. Those closer to the sources of water or with the bigger pipes are hogging all the water. Therefore less water is going downstream, to other communities that need the water for their own activities and livestock. Council officials are not paid enough to care, and some are paid bribes to turn a blind eye. When I brought this issue up with one of the farmers, he told me that he has to look after his own livelihood for his family first, than to think of the damage being caused, the future of the environment and consequences elsewhere.

So more needs to be done to monitor the situation and make sure farmers are following the regulations when it comes to pipe size, and also the placement of these pipes close to the water sources. More activities like industry and processing etc, need to be introduced, to veer others away from growing bananas, and finding other means of livelihoods. After all is said and done, residents in Honde Valley are doing very well compared to other rural communities around Zimbabwe. I just worry for the overall Sustainable future for the region. Me, out...