Page 6 - Ecuador's Banana Sector under Climate Change

3. Analysis of the banana value chain: Key stages and principal stakeholders 20
3.1 Banana production 20
3.1.1 Field management and packing practices 20
3.1.2 Cost of production 24
3.1.3 Banana yields 25
3.2 Banana exports 26
3.2.1 Exporters 28
3.2.2 Other suppliers to the banana industry 29
3.3 Ocean shipping 29
3.4 Retailers 30
3.5 The impact of market power on the banana value chain 32
4. Analysis of Ecuador’s banana policy 34
4.1 Minimum price and producer/exporter contract enforcement 35
4.2 Managing the oversupply and variability of bananas 37
4.3 Support to farmers with regard to productivity 38
4.4 Social protection and the policy on the rights of workers 38
4.5 Environmental regulations 39
4.6 Trade policy: diversifying export markets 40
5. Discussion and general conclusions 40
5.1 Economic sustainability 40
5.2 Environmental sustainability: pests and the use of pesticides 42
5.2.1 The aggravating impact of climate change 44
5.3 Social sustainability 44
5.4 Improved governance for a sustainable banana industry 46
CHAPTER 3:
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ECUADOR AND ITS IMPACT ON BANANA CROPS: AN OVERVIEW 49
1. Climate change and global trends 50
2. Climate change in the Amazon region 50
2.1 Temperature 50
2.2 Tropical cyclones 50
2.3 El Niño 52
3. The increasing impact of climate change on Ecuador 52
3.1 The retreat of glaciers 54
3.2 The threat of climate change to Ecuador’s agriculture 54
3.3 GHG mitigation in Ecuador 59
4. Implications of climate change on Ecuador’s bananas 55
4.1 Impacts outside Ecuador 55
4.1.1 Other banana producing countries 55 4.1.2 Disease 56 4.1.3 Tropical cyclones and El Niño 57
4.2 Impacts within Ecuador 57
iv