Bananas under threat

THE BANANA producers of Mindanao are up in arms against a threat to their export business, which might die because of a potential man-made calamity through a proposed piece of legislation.

House Bill 5161—An Act Regulating the Establish- ment and Implementation of Agribusiness Venture Arrangements (AVAs) in Agrarian Reform Areas—has been the subject of protests from banana plantation operators as well as cooperatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). Authored by Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner

Baguilat Jr., the proposed bill contains provisions unacceptable to most banana plantations companies and its ARBs.

Among the provisions opposed by banana growers is one that limits the lease contracts on banana plantations between the growers and the agrarian reform beneficiaries (who own the land) to five years—something best left to the discretion of the private parties involved, the industry believes.

The bill will also allow the agrarian reform beneficiary to opt out of its contract with the banana grower unilaterally if the former feels that his economic conditions have changed. Banana growers feel feel this provision unfairly shields the agrarian reform landowners from the responsibility of adhering to contracts they enter into.

Noless than theumbrella organization of the Philippine banana industry, the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), has appealed to various government agencies to stop the bill, which will endanger the viability of the $1-billion banana export industry.

In a position paper submitted to six department secretaries, the banana exporters said HB5161 is seen as “just one of the series of policy lobbying orchestrated by militant groups to sustain their protests versus government for whatever ground they deem reasonable.”

Exports of Cavendish bananas has breached the $1-billion mark as it grew 18.06 percent from $962.58 million in 2013 to $1.13 billion in 2014, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show.