January/February 2000

News from the Front: Banana Ecolabeling Program is World's Largest

By Chris Wille

What began in 1991 as an attempt to stop deforestation by banana companies has grown into the world's largest ecolabeling program for banana farms. The Better Banana Project (BBP) verifies that farms meet strict environmental and social standards. Those farms that comply are certified and allowed to advertise their achievement. The BBP is managed by the Conservation Agriculture Network, a coalition of Latin American conservation groups and the Rainforest Alliance.

The BBP -- also known by its ECO-O.K.^TM trademark -- helped convince banana companies that significant improvements could be made without eroding production. To date, more than 150 farms have been certified in Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica, totaling more than 74,000 acres. In Guatemala and Honduras, dozens more farms are enrolled in the program and making the required changes. Combined production of BBP bananas totals more than 60 million boxes per year or about 10 percent of the bananas produced in Latin America and the Caribbean -- more than any other certification program.

The first standards for responsible production were developed during a year of negotiations in Costa Rica. The debates included banana producers, environmentalists, scientists, community leaders, government agencies and others interested in finding ways to minimize the environmental impacts of banana farms while maximizing the benefits to workers and communities. "At first the greens and the farmers wouldn't even talk to each other," says Argentine ecologist Susana Salas, who directed the process. "But scientists helped bring both sides toward the middle, toward common ground." The first two farms -- one in Costa Rica, the other in Hawaii -- were certified in August 1993.

On certified farms, deforestation has stopped and reforestation programs have begun. Workers get good wages, proper safety equipment, improved housing, schools for their children, training for adults and medical care. Pesticide use has declined dramatically, and the most dangerous chemicals have been outlawed entirely. Soil conservation and waste management programs are in place. Wildlife is protected and the edges of natural streams are reforested.

"Each farm is different," says Alejandro Alvarez, the BBP's most experienced inspector, "but it generally takes fifteen months for a farm to meet enough of the standards to win certification." Inspectors make surprise visits and every farm is audited on an annual basis. The farms must show continual improvements to maintain their certification.

Chiquita Brands International was the first large company to get involved in the program. The company has certified all of its active banana farms in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, and is committed to certifying all of its Latin American farms within the next year. According to David McLaughlin, Chiquita's senior director of environmental programs, "This program helped us take a different perspective, and we've made a lot of changes and introduced new procedures and technology, some of which are now being adopted across the industry."

Reybancorp, a subsidiary of Favorita Fruit Co. and Ecuador's second largest banana company, is also committed to the program. The company has planted hundreds of thousands of trees and restored about 5,000 acres in one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. The company foundation supports twenty schools and manages the famous Río Palenque Science Center, where records have been set for native plant diversity.

In addition to its positive impacts on large companies, the BBP has affected smaller operations as well, such as a cooperative of 35 small farms in Ecuador. Some of the farms are only five acres, but they are the sole source of income and employment for the families that own them. Through certification, the farmers have increased banana production and quality, improved sanitation and safety, and made the farms more hospitable to wildlife. The cooperative is a microcosm of the BBP's successes. In the words of Cooperative President Holger Campuzano, "At times we sacrificed food money to make these changes, but the environment will reimburse us. The birds have already returned."

The mission of the Rainforest Alliance is to protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Companies, cooperatives and landowners that participate in our programs meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods.