Risking crop diversity is bananas!

When it comes to growing a new crop, one thing which is really important is to choose the right variety. We have bred crops with two things in mind, yield and ease. We want a high yielding crop which is also resistant to climatic pressures and can grow anywhere. Its a formula which has worked for us. However, it can go to far, and when it does, the consequences can be dire.

The problem with breeding these plants is that the ‘super’ plant which is produced is the one which is used (as you would expect). As it takes over, other varieties are left redundant and lost. For example, before the Green Revolution in India, its farmers planted a total of 30,000 different varieties. By 2010, 75% of India’s fields were planted with just 10 different varieties.Similarly, in the USA, 403 different varieties of pea were recorded as being planted in 1903, this reduced to just two in 1975 on 90% of the land.

In losing these varieties, we lose diversity and the loss of diversity, as any financial advisor will tell you, increases risk. When there are so few varieties new strains of disease can have devastating effects on the production of that crop at a national and international level. Sadly, this is not just a hypothetical situation. We are already seeing this in banana growing.

The Cavendish banana variety makes up 47% of global banana growing. However, in terms of the bananas which are traded, the Cavendish variety makes up nearly all of it. Yet, despite its dominance, it is coming under threat from a fungus which is spreading from Asia to Africa and the Middle East.

This fungus can wipe out plantations which could have a devastating effect on global food supply. While we may not think the banana necessary to our diet, it is worth noting that in Africa, only 15% of bananas are exported. The rest remain for local consumption. Damaging the supply of bananas may well have an undesirable impact on food availability to the poorest.

The FAO is now working on a project to try to find ways to resolve this crisis. However, from it, we should be able to learn some simple lessons.

High yields and hardy crops are great, but we should not sacrifice diversity in the same way as we have done over the last century. We need this variety to ensure food security. In no other industry would you find such an ‘eggs in one basket’ approach to risk management, yet this is the most important industry in the world — its the one that keeps us alive.

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Originally published at shrinkthesupplychain.com on January 26, 2015.