April 23 , 2021
The strike by Chiquita banana farmworkers in Panama that began in early April due to the company installing security cameras has now ended, according to local news reports.
Operations on the farms and in the packhouses were paralyzed for more than 16 days in the province of Bocas del Toro after the Banana Industry Workers Union (SITRAIBANA) called for industrial action.
The workers rejected the installation of security cameras in the plantations and packhouses, with many saying they felt harassed and persecuted by the technology.
The paralyzation resulted in heavy losses for Chiquita, with tens of thousands of boxes of bananas per day not being exported, in addition to fruit not being harvested and preventative treatment for Black Sigatoka on thousands of acres of farmland being put on hold.
Chiquita banana worker strike causes immense losses in Panama
April 20 , 2021
It has been more than 15 days since a strike at a Chiquita banana production plant started in the province of Bocas del Toro, Panama that has reportedly caused millions of dollars to be lost.
For over two weeks the Atlantic Banana Division has held a sit-down strike in rejection of the installation of security cameras in the plantations and packing houses.
Although the company assures that it is a measure for the welfare of the workers, the general secretary of the Workers Union, Francisco Smith rejects this Security System, according to La Prensa.
Small banana producers receive certification of regularization of their properties
Last September the reform to the regulation of the Law to Stimulate and Control the Production and Marketing of Bananas was issued, through which the regularization of producers is allowed and in December, through Ministerial Agreement 156, the payment of the fine for small producers of up to 5 hectares.
“With the formalization we will have union associations capable of reaching a direct market and facilities to achieve price stability,” said Minister Xavier Lazo.
Gladys Fuentes Alegría, producer of the Lorenzo de Garaicoa parish, indicated that with the certification she will be able to do her formalities as a formal producer and will allow her to market the fruit at a fair price. She, along with 13 other producers, received her code to enter the MAG’s Banana Control System.
First organic banana cluster created in Peru
Cluster aims to improve the competitiveness of the sector and make production more sustainable
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A group of organic banana growers in Peru has come together to create the country’s first organic banana cluster in order to improve the sector’s competitiveness and make production more sustainable.
The group, based in Piura, northern Peru, accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s organic banana output, worth more than US$125m a year.
The project, which is backed by the government and NGO Solidaridad Internacional, is focused on improving the economic, social and environmental aspects of banana cultivation.