Working Group on Sustainable Production Systems and Environmental Impact (WG01)

The Working Group 01 deals with Sustainable Production Systems and Environmental Impact. This group seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the main issues related to sustainable banana production and to develop a road map towards improving sustainability in banana production.

The specific objectives of the working group are:

to agree on a comprehensive definition of sustainable banana production;
to identify the most important sustainability issues in banana production;
to compile and exchange information and knowledge about sustainability and related issues in banana production systems;
to list and discuss potential solutions, and come up with a priority list of most promising options to tackle sustainability issues in banana production;
to initiate and facilitate actions taken towards achieving identified options for solutions to sustainability issues in banana production systems;
to set up pilot projects around at least one of these identified options;
to exchange relevant information with other WGs of the WBF and externally.
to cope with the spread of Fusarium wilt TR4, also known as Panama disease, through the WBF ad-hoc Task Force on TR4.

The WG01 has already started a process to gather the views and opinions of the banana sector’s stakeholders on sustainable production systems and environmental impact. A first meeting, open to everyone, was held during the days 28th and 29th of July 2010 in Antwerp (Belgium). Here you can find some preparatory information about the meeting and here you will find a summary of the outcomes of the event.

A second meeting of the WG01 took place in Rome in November 2010. In this meeting, the WG01 participants decided to create two sub-committees within this Group:

1- The first sub-committee specifically focuses on agro-chemical use, and in particular on their environmental impact.

2- The second sub-committee concentrates on the development of a virtual library presenting best practices related to sustainable banana production. This virtual library, an internet-based tool, will be aimed at improving access to and exchange of best sustainable practices among all interested stakeholders, at a worldwide level.

Every stakeholder of the banana industry can speak in our Forum! If you are interested to join this group, please send us a motivated email to: [email protected] and we will immediately forward your communication to the coordinators of this WG. These are the coordinators of WG01:

Working Group on Sustainable Production Systems and Environmental Impact (WG01)

A second meeting of the WG01 took place in Rome in November 2010. In this meeting, the WG01 participants decided to create two sub-committees within this Group:

WG01 key documents

WG01 photos