Lao farmers look to sweeten value
FOR many dwelling in the Lao capital, bananas are considered a healthy, cheap and abundant food which can be eaten on their own or turned into a variety of snacks. But the produce represents a much-needed lifeline to rural farmers who grow, then sell it to vendors before it is consumed
Bananas bought in Vientiane typically cost $0.59 a bunch but growers in the capital’s Sangthong district sell them for just $0.09 to $0.11 a bunch to the traders who buy them to sell in the city.
Bounsom Fongsamai, a grower in Ban Xor, Sangthong district, says “It’s not a lot but I’m happy with this amount as I can make income and I’ve been used to selling bananas at this price for a while now.”
In the dry season, he can sell the fruit for $ 0.23 a bunch.
Bounsom’s farm is just over 10 kilometres uphill from the village. The hilly road can be accessed by tractor, but conditions are difficult in the rainy season.
Bounsom usually leaves home early to work on his farm, where he cuts the grass and checks the crop and also works in his rice field. He stays there all day and only goes home when the sun starts to disappear.
He cuts the mature bananas and loads them onto his tractor, which he drives through the hills past a small stream and a broken bridge to his village where traders will come to buy the fruit at his house. The village is about 30 kilometres from the heart of the district and traders can get there easily using a good road.
Central Vientiane is linked to Sangthong district by a well paved road and the journey takes just over an hour. The villagers continue to sell their produce at low prices just as they did before the road was upgraded.
Bounsom began growing bananas five years ago. He planted 1,000 saplings on 2 hectares and planted out another 1.5 hectares a few years later.
A banana tree produces fruit for five to seven years and gives the best yields in the third to fourth years of growth. “It’s hard work to start with because so much grass and weeds have to be cleared but after two years we don’t have to cut the grass because the trees have grown sufficiently to cover it and slow its growth.”
Right now he harvests the fruit every 15 days. “I earn about 3 million kip [$361] a month from the sale of bananas,” he says.
“Before I planted bananas, my family was always short of money and struggled to make ends meet as our only source of income was from our annual rice harvest. But now the banana plantation provides us with a regular income, rather like having a salary. We now get a cash injection every 15 days which helps us a lot.”
“The profits have enabled us to a buy a pickup truck and a tractor and also pay for my children’s education. And we can also put some by as savings,” he adds. “It’s hard work, but now we enjoy better living standards and I’m happy with that.”
The village recently received funding from the Capacity Building for Gender Development project under the Capacity Development for Citizen Lead Inclusive Development initiative. The threeyear project from 2015-2017 is funded by the European Community and Oxfam.
The project operates in two villages in Sangthong district, with various activi- ties based on the potential of the areas chosen by villagers. The project also has various partners in other provinces who are carrying out small sub-projects. The other provinces are Bokeo, Khammuan, Savannakhet and Champassak.
“This year I planted another 1,500 saplings on 1.5 hectares after I got a loan from the project,” Bounsom says. “I think it’s a good project. We can borrow money interest-free. This helps people who don’t have any spare cash to start some kind of business and earn extra money for their family.”
Now that others in the village have seen how Bounsom’s family has benefitted from growing bananas they have also applied for and received funding from the project, and are keen to learn from him. Several people now want to grow bananas as he has done.
“This year more than 10 families in the village have started growing bananas after seeing how much I’ve earned. I began by learning from others and now I’m happy to share my knowledge too,” he says.
Naturally, there are concerns that the already low sale price of bananas in the area could fall even further if more people start to grow the crop. If more fruit are produced all at the same time, the price may fall and growers may not even be able to sell all of their crop.
And although bananas can be used to make a variety of snacks, which have a longer shelf life, no such processing of the fruit currently takes place in the village. To make better use of the crop and add value, the villagers need help from an entrepreneur to give them ideas about how to create such a product and market it.
This might help the growers to get a better price for their crop and add value to the ever popular fruit.