Farmer collects Prince’s platter
PRINCE Charles has recognised the work undertaken by North Queensland banana growers Frank and Diane Sciacca to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
At a ceremony in Townsville just before Christmas, Mr and Mrs Sciacca, who operate Pacific Coast Eco Bananas near Innisfail, were awarded the Prince of Wales Award for Environmental Leadership – Reef Sustainability.
The prize includes a study tour of the reef research station on Heron Island and a platter designed by Prince Charles.
The platter features the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, three white ostrich feathers that symbolise the 1346 Battle of Crecy in France when a small army of English and Welsh troops defeated a much larger French army.
Prince Charles’s personal motto “ich dien”, which translate to “I serve”, also features on the platter.
A spokeswoman from the Prince’s Trust Australia said the award recognised the exemplary efforts “above and beyond the call of duty” that raise awareness about the Great Barrier Reef.
“His Royal Highness has expressed a personal interest in the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef for future generations. The award seeks to inspire others to adopt best practice approaches to pressing environmental challenges to the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.
The spokeswoman said the judging panel considered a number of issues, including the quality of results and environmental outcomes and the degree of innovation, uniqueness and groundbreaking action associated with the project.
Mr Sciacca said that for him and his wife and their staff to win the award was “very satisfying”.
“It is a global award and it recognises what we have done and what we have achieved,” Mr Sciacca said.
Mr and Mrs Sciacca’s familiar wax- tipped bananas are farmed without the use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides.
Mr Sciacca calls the system of framing they have developed– “ecoganic”.
“Traditional farming involves using chemicals that sterilise the soil and kill insects,” Mr Sciacca said.
“This leaves the crop dependent on synthetic fertiliser for its source of nutrition. These practices have a negative im- pact on the soil, organisms, insects, birds, larger wildlife and the waterways,” he said.
“The ecoganic farming system we created to grow our signature wax- tipped bananas means we farm in harmony with nature.
“Rather than relying on synthetic or organic chemicals we choose to employ all of nature’s creatures on the farm to grow our bananas, slowly, carefully and sustainably.”
Mr Sciacca said it took 20 years of traditional farming for he and his wife to realise there was another way.
“We discovered that by trying to grow cheap, perfect looking bananas we had destroyed the health of our farm ecosystem and produced a banana that was tasteless and had poor shelf life,” he said.
Mr Sciacca said the wax tip applied to the bananas for marketing made them stand out on supermarket shelves.