MANILA, Philippines — With the changing and globalized agri-food system, Filipino small-scale banana farmers are urged to continually innovate in their production approaches in order to stay alive in the competitive banana industry.

The call for innovation was issued by Dr. Larry N. Digal, a value chain expert, during a recent lecture on Development Options in Enhancing the Performance of the Philippine Cavendish Banana Chain at the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños, Laguna.

Digal said that innovation could mean going organic in their production in order to achieve increased market value of their produce. Organically grown bananas are 35 percent more expensive than the traditionally grown ones.

The recent years have seen big changes occurring in the agri-food system, including the banana industry, which begs the question, “Will the vulnerable yet numerous small-scale producers of Cavendish banana be ‘in or out’ in the industry?”

The changes and trends, said Digal, include the expanding high-value markets (e.g., export and modern retail, fast food chains); food processing becoming concentrated, vertically integrated and into contractual agreements; fragmenting farms in developing countries; and weakening institutions (e.g., governance, infrastructure, labor).

Southern Mindanao (Region XI), Davao in particular, is the country’s main producer of Cavendish banana. The industry employs numerous poor locals and has contributed much to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).

However, recently there has been a rise in the region’s poverty incidence, which has alarmed the industry and other concerned sectors. This has been attributed to the decline in Cavendish banana production owing to the fragmentation of land and banning of aerial spraying, among many other factors. Moreover, the small-scale producers lack the capacity to meet the high standards required by the market.

Digal offered four options to address the situation: improve the price of bananas, improve productivity, reduce cost of production and marketing, and address policy issues and institutional issues.

The improvement of price entails that farmers need to aim for higher quality produce (e.g., organically grown bananas) so that its market value would increase.

To improve production, individual farming system is encouraged for higher income. Income per hectare in a cooperative farming system is smaller because farmers would still need to pay certain cooperative fees.