Banana boom in Maha's sugar bowl

As the uncertainty over sugarcane prices plays havoc with growers, an increasing number of farmers in the state’s sugar bowl of western Maharashtra are turning to banana plantation since it offers more consistent returns. Maharashtra is the country’s leader in banana production with an estimated 87,000 hectare area under cultivation. The Union government has declared eight districts in the state as part of a banana agri-export zone (AEZ). These districts are Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani and Pune. Jalgaon district alone, with an estimated 60,000 ha under banana cultivation, accounts for more than 50% of the area under this crop in the state. Recently, sugarcane farmers from Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune and Satara districts have gone in for banana plantation. “These farmers use modern techniques like tissue culture and drip irrigation in banana which gives them good yields,” said a senior official of the state’s horticulture department. Added an official from the state’s agriculture department, “Unlike sugarcane, there is seldom wide fluctuation in banana prices. With adoption of tissue culture, the cost of re-plantation has substantially come down for banana.” A multinational fresh fruit company Unifrutti, which has set up its India head office in Gurgaon, has begun large-scale export of bananas from Akluj in Solapur district, a nontraditional banana area. In some Asian countries, Unifrutti operates in a joint venture with Chiquita Brands, the global banana and fresh fruits company.