Banana is the most traded fruit in the world. In developing countries it is the fourth most important food, and millions of people depend on it for their livelihoods. However, the production of bananas is under severe threat due to the Fusarium TR4 disease. Thousands of hectares of banana plantations are already affected or destroyed in Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa. Currently, there are no fully resistant varieties and no practical methods to control the disease. At this moment, while prevention is critical for unaffected areas, concerted efforts are needed to put in place the available management and containment practices in areas already affected. In this respect, urgent and collective actions are needed by major stakeholders to prevent and manage the disease globally.

Your participation as a key stakeholder will be crucial in establishing a common perspective, guidance and international collaboration for prevention and management of the disease in view of protecting banana farmer’s livelihoods worldwide.

Major stakeholders of the banana sector such as supermarket chains, trading and producing companies, and certification bodies, have been invited.

We would appreciate if you could confirm your participation by 3 February 2017 by sending an email to the WBF Secretariat ([email protected]) specifying the name of the participant and organization.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.