TAGUM CITY? A pro-aerial spraying group has asked those calling for the ban on aerial spraying in banana plantations in Southern Mindanao to ?consider people?s lives? as outlawing the practice could allegedly result in widespread displacement of workers.
The ban was being backed up by public and health groups, saying it was putting the health of people living near plantations at risk.
But Cris Michelena, managing director of Initiative for Farm Advocacy and Resource Management (IFARM), said on Thursday that over half a million people depending on some 60,000 hectares of banana plantations in the region would be put out of work if companies ceased operations due to massive infestation of fungal diseases.
The banana industry has considered Black Sigatoka infestations as the biggest threat to the survival of the plantations. Black Sigatoka is a fungus-like parasite that feeds on banana leaves, causing among others, high leaf loss, malformed fruits and premature ripening.
The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said only aerial spraying could effectively control the spread of the disease.
?Aerial spraying is the only means possible at the moment to combat Sigatoka and for the industry to survive,? Dr. Calixto Protacio, IFARM chair, agreed.
He said buyers abroad would cancel large volumes of orders or return already shipped produce found to be damaged by the disease.
The country is the world?s second exporter of bananas, specifically the Cavendish variety, next to Ecuador, and generates at least $400 million in export revenue, industry figures indicate.
But supporters of the ban, including the city government of Davao, cited a 2006 study by the Department of Health (DOH) in Southern Mindanao, which showed that people living near plantations regularly suffer from various health problems due to exposure to chemicals.
The result of the study has prompted the DOH 11 to recommend a halt in the use of aerial spraying on banana and other plantations in the region.
But the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) has assailed the recommendation, calling the DOH-commissioned study ?rushed.?
