Considered the most lethal banana disease in the world, the Banana Fusarium Wilt, is a killer that is rapidly spreading in Latin America and hurting global supplies of the world’s most popular export banana variety — the Cavendish. Working hand in hand with experts in South America, the IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is using nuclear science to combat, manage and prevent the spread of this disease, save livelihoods and ensure food security.
“When the Andean community reached out to us, we were aware that the condition is serious and that we should use our nuclear expertise to stop any further spread of the disease,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
Bananas are a staple food in much of the region, especially among poorer segments of the population, and are also an important cash crop. Over 84 per cent of bananas are produced by smallholder farmers and supply the domestic markets, while the remaining 16 per cent produced in tropical areas are destined for export.
According to the FAO, the Cavendish banana provides approximately 47 per cent of global banana production and accounts for almost all the bananas exported. If the disease spreads further, economic loss and unemployment is inevitable, scientists say. Indonesia has already seen an estimated US$121 million of economic loss and Colombia, the fifth largest exporter of bananas in the world, is likely to lose 30,000 jobs and US$800 million of export earnings per year if the disease is not controlled quickly.
In late August 2021, experts and authorities from the Andean community — Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru — reached out to the IAEA when they discovered continuing spread of the latest variation of the disease, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), in the region. First reported in Latin America in 2019 in Colombia, it was observed in Peru in early 2021.
“When we found that more than 80 hectares of land in Peru and 250 in Colombia had been affected, Bolivia also started to fear that the disease could soon reach its banana plantations. It became clear to us, as a community, that our countries need specialised assistance through nuclear techniques and related biotechnologies to overcome the disease and stop its spread in the Latin American region,” said Antonio Bustamante, Research Technician at the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Ecuador, a country exporting the most bananas worldwide.
TR4 is a soil borne pathogen, meaning that it can survive for decades in the soil and destroy healthy plants grown in the soil — causing crop loss and making the disease difficult to control. With the pathogen found in 20 countries during the past decade, the IAEA is providing support to stop the disease from escalating further.
