IICA-organized event at Borlaug International Dialogue showcases advances in science and innovation aimed at containing the banana pandemic

Des Moines, USA, October 26, 2023 (IICA). Through collective action, major strides are being made in science and innovation to develop bananas that are more resilient to the pests and diseases threatening production and, ultimately, global food security.

Researchers and private sector representatives explained the latest developments during a panel discussion organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) within the framework of the 2023 Borlaug Dialogue.

Taking part in the event were members of the Global Alliance Against TR4, a collaborative effort in which representatives from the private sector, academia, civil society organizations, state entities and international agencies have been engaged since 2020, and whose secretariat is operated by IICA.

The first objective set for the Alliance was to stop the spread of the disease caused by a new strain of the Fusarium fungus, referred to as the “banana pandemic,” which was detected in Latin America in 2019. In the medium and long term, the goal is to conduct research and use plant breeding technologies to find solutions.

The 2023 Borlaug Dialogue is taking place in the U.S. state of Iowa, at the home of the World Food Prize (WFP) Foundation, a prestigious institution that promotes innovation and actions designed to achieve a sustainable increase in the quantity and quality of the food available. Each year, the Foundation awards the World Food Prize, regarded as the Nobel Prize in its field, to individuals who make an outstanding contribution to food and nutrition security.

Global leaders, agricultural producers, academics, scientists, educators and students from more than 65 countries IICA Director General Manuel Otero among them are taking part in the Borlaug Dialogue, whose focus this year is on ways of harnessing innovation and the diversification of production to improve resilience to climate change, promote recovery after extreme weather events, and feed the world in a sustainable manner. 

A crisis and an opportunity

During the discussion organized by IICA, the experts explained how the crisis sparked by the spread of the tropical race 4 (TR4) strain of the Fusarium fungus which causes a disease that spreads through the soil and devastates plantations, and for which no treatment currently exists can also be used as an opportunity.

They gave details of the actions being carried out to increase banana production and make it more sustainable, improve biosafety practices and train farmers, so the crop is more resilient to future threats.

The participants in the panel discussion were Jorge Sauma, CEO of Costa Rica’s National Banana Corporation (CORBANA); Chelly Hresko, Global Portfolio Lead on Disease Management at Bayer; Hans Sauter, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Del Monte Foods; and Rony Swennen, producer and researcher at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. The event was moderated by Lloyd Day, Deputy Director General of IICA.

Sauma referred to the growing concern about the outbreak of Fusarium wilt disease in Latin America, where it has been detected in three countries: first in Colombia, then in Peru and, most recently, in Venezuela.

“In Costa Rica, we are controlling our borders  and raising producer awareness at the farm level, explaining the need for measures to prevent the introduction of the disease, working with the Ministry of Agriculture and health officials,” he explained.

Sauma added that major scientific progress had already been made around the world in developing varieties resistant to the disease, and mentioned that CORBANA was working in partnership with EMBRAPA, Brazil’s public agricultural research corporation.

“The IICA initiative the Global Alliance and the involvement of a company of Bayer’s stature are very important. We have to work together to contain TR4 and eliminate future threats, as millions of vulnerable farmers depend on banana cultivation, and have no other option,” he remarked. 

Hans Sauter emphasized that the problem cannot be tackled by farmers alone, but calls for action by governments and the entire supply chain. “Suppliers and consumers also have to get involved, because bananas are a cheap food, one of the most widely consumed foods in the world,” he noted.

Chelly Hresko said the disease posed a threat to global food security and especially to the most vulnerable countries and populations. “We signed up to the alliance because we saw an opportunity to work on behalf of farmers, and because we can help control banana diseases,” Hresko said.

The Bayer expert stressed that gene editing was a very valuable tool for designing disease-resistant varieties and pointed out that details of all the progress that Bayer was making are uploaded to a public database.

Lloyd Day emphasized that bananas were the most popular fruit in the world, and that in Latin America they were not only an irreplaceable source of income for family farmers, but also an export product.

“There are millions of people,” Day said, “who in one way or another depend on bananas. The TR4 disease destroys crops and affects the soil, which then cannot be used. But above all, it destroys sources of income and economies, and poses a serious threat to food and nutrition security. The Alliance is a global platform for coordinating efforts to combat banana pests and diseases, and is already achieving results.”

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int