Ban On Movement of Bananas From Nampula and Cabo Delgado

Bannana

The Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture has banned the transport of bananas from the northern provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado to anywhere else in the country, in an attempt to stop the spread of a fungal disease, fusarium wilt, which can wipe out banana production entirely.

Fusarium wilt, popularly known as Panama disease, is caused by a soil-borne fungus which is almost impossible to eradicate. It stays in the soil for an indefinite period and resists chemical pesticides.

In the 1950s, fusarium wilt wiped out most commercial production of the then dominant strain of banana, the Gros Michel variety. Producers switched to other, more resistant varieties, but the fungus has adapted, and is now threatening the world's most popular banana variety the Cavendish. The disease has spread through Asian countries such as Philippine and Indonesia, and it was from the Philippines that it reached Mozambique.

The disease has been detected in two farms of the Jacaranda company in Cabo Delgado and in the plantation of the Matanuska company in Nampula. Matanuska suffered major losses on 1,550 hectares, which led to the company declaring bankruptcy in February.

Part of the Matanuska crisis can be laid at the door of the Norwegian government's development finance institution, Norfund, which was one of the founding investors in Matanuska, putting 27 million dollars into the company.

Initially all seemed to be going well, Production at Matanuska began in 2008, and at its peak it was exporting 1,400 tonnes of bananas a day, according to a report in the latest issue of the well-informed “Mozambique News Reports and Clippings”, published by London-based journalist, Joseph Hanlon.

But in 2013, Panama disease struck, although the fungus had never been seen in Africa before. The source of the disease has been identified. The head of plant pathology in the Agriculture Ministry, Antonia Vaz, told the BBC in February that the fungus came to Matanuska on the boots of two workers from the Philippines. In other words, the company management failed to take the basic precaution of cleaning the footwear of workers from a country where Panama disease is rampant.

Cited by Hanlon, Vaz said that, in the company's early years “there was a rapid turnover of management at Matanuska and poor local control, and the lack of phytosanitary control meant dirty boots were not checked”. Vaz feared that the disease could destroy the entire Mozambican banana industry within a decade.

Hanlon notes that “Having allowed the poor management and introduction of a devastating disease, Norfund withdrew from Matanuska in 2014”.

Hanlon comments: “Norwegian "aid" has destroyed companies and introduced a disease which will devastate the banana industry, costing far more jobs than have been created by that aid. Actions to resist the spread of Panama disease will cost tens of millions of dollars, surely more than Norway invested in the banana plantation. Norway's aid to Mozambique is about 30 milion US dollars per year. Cleaning up the Matanuska mess will cost more than one year's aid. Can Norway simply walk away and wash its hands of the damage it has done?”

The Agriculture Ministry has now suspended all banana production at Matanuska. The two Jacaranda farms are allowed to continue production, but under strict measure of quarantine.

No bananas can be moved out of Nampula and Cabo Delgado, and nor can any seedlings or other propagating materials. Access to the affected farms is banned to everybody except their workers, plant health technicians, and other duly authorised persons.

As for bananas on sale within the two provinces, they should be washed and disinfected with fungicide, and transported under safe conditions. The packaging material, such as boxes and sacks, must be treated so as to remove all soil and dust.