The Global Alliance is fighting the banana disease

The Global Alliance is fighting together against Fusarium TR4 to stop the progression of a disease that threatens crop survival. The group receives strong support from the World Bank, one of the main sources of project financing in developing countries.

The Alliance's Executive Committee held extensive discussions with delegates from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a meeting attended by members of producer associations, companies representing the entire banana chain, researchers and senior officials of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). participated. American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA).

Institutional leaders received detailed information about the global spread of Fusarium TR4, learned about the ongoing collaborative efforts of Alliance members, and suggested various ways they could support the work against the disease.

TR4 originated in Asia and is moving westward. The disease has already been detected in three Latin American countries: Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

The Tropical Race 4 (TR4) strain of the Fusarium fungus, which causes a disease for which there is currently no treatment, poses the greatest threat in more than half a century to a crop that is particularly important to vulnerable populations, which up to a quarter of their daily calorie intake comes from bananas.

The meeting took place at the IICA offices in Panama and was attended in person or online by representatives of several companies from around the world, including Bayer and Fyffes, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the National Banana Corporation (CORBANA). Costa Rica, the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), the Association of Banana Growers of Colombia (AUGURA), the University of Queensland (Australia) and Wageningen University (Netherlands).

IICA founded the Global Alliance against Fusarium TR4 in 2021 and acts as its technical secretariat.

Reflecting on ways to provide financial support to the Global Alliance Against Fusarium TR4, Christopher Ian Brett, senior agribusiness specialist at the World Bank, pointed out that the institution's investment portfolio in this sector in 2023 includes 247 projects worth US$4 billion -dollars included.

During the meeting, the alliance presented the results achieved so far. Prevention and training, cultivation and genetics of resistant varieties, control methods, and guidelines and support. Details were provided on progress in discovering genes that could be resistant to TR4, development of innovative production methods, including the use of soil fertilization and fungicides, and efforts to improve biosecurity on farms.

Around 300 farmers were trained in prevention in Paraguay, Ecuador and Colombia. More than 500 took part in the online training.