Duration: November 2020-April 2024
Area of implementation: 11 organizations of small Fair Trade banana producers in Peru and the Dominican Republic.
Topics: sustainable production, productivity, and quality of bananas; improving skills in management, marketing, communication, leadership and inclusion of young people and women, and increasing their competitiveness.
Implementation: CLAC and Max Havelaar France
Funding: French Development Agency (AFD), Carrefour, Max Havelaar France and Fairtrade Deutschland.
The Sustainable Banana Organizations (SBO) project was implemented by The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers(CLAC) in partnership with French Development Agency (AFD), Carrefour, Max Havelaar France and Fairtrade Deutschland to strengthen the sustainable livelihoods of 11 organizations of small Fairtrade banana producers in Peru and the Dominican Republic.
Context of SBO
This project was implemented for 41 and a half months, from November 14, 2020, to April 30, 2024. Initially, its goal was to carry out actions with the direct participation of 1,059 people, including producers, leaders, management, and the organization’s technical staff. This number was exceeded throughout the project cycle, and in the end, it reached 1,241 people (373 women and 868 men) participating.
Through SBO, were promoted actions aimed at sustainably improving the conditions of production, productivity, and quality of bananas, enhancing the skills of the cooperatives involved in the areas of management, marketing, communication, and inclusion of youth and women, and increasing their competitiveness.
The project had faced limitations in developing fieldwork that delayed its activities, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the presence of Fusarium, and recurrent climatic events.
Despite these initial difficulties, the actions contemplated in the four results of the OBS project’s logical framework were successfully implemented:
- Outcome 1: Fair Trade small-scale banana producers improved the soil fertility of their banana plantations.
- Outcome 2: Fair Trade small-scale banana producers diversified their cultivation practices.
- Outcome 3: Cooperatives improved their management, marketing, and communication skills.
- Outcome 4: Cooperatives improved the inclusion of youth and women.
Significant progresses were thus recorded in achieving the goals set for each of these four outcomes, according to external evaluators and findings of the mid-term and final evaluations.
Successful practices and strengths
Among the practices that can be highlighted is the governance model implemented to facilitate project participants ownership of the project. Representatives of each SPO were part of the two operational committees (1 for each country). Additionally, delegates of Peru´s and Dominican Republic´s National Fair Trade Platforms were part of the steering committee, together with CLAC and MHF.
Thus facilitating permanent coordination between the project team and the parties involved. This made it possible to effectively adjust to the local context, as well as to eventualities that impacted the planning and implementation of actions.
At the end of the project, a high evaluation was achieved, mainly because it generated positive results in the lives of producers and organizations, who were facing a critical moment for the banana sector.
Other strengths are the approach to issues from a comprehensive perspective, beyond the implementation of operational activities; the alignment of the project with the needs of organizations, contributing to improving management and productivity; and the empowerment of people, helping them to value their capabilities, expand their knowledge and connect with other people, providing opportunities, especially for young people and women.
In addition to the above, at the financial level, the resources were executed efficiently, as planned, and oriented toward the fulfillment of the stipulated results, goals, and indicators.
Project development
At the end of the OBS project, a final evaluation included 179 small producers from participating organizations were interviewed, with a confidence margin of 95% and a margin of error of 5%.
Of those interviewed, 31.05% consider their livelihoods sustainable, compared to 4.4% when the initial evaluation began. This percentage affirms that the general objective “strengthen the sustainable livelihoods of small Fair Trade banana producers, their families, and communities,” has been fulfilled.
A significant percentage of producers consider having sustainable livelihoods and income-generating activities to contribute to production and job creation. The sustainability of these livelihoods is measured in the social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
Likewise, among all participating organizations, an 18.83% increase in average crop yield was recorded, compared to the yield measured at the start of the project, and the global average went from 1,279 to 1,576 boxes of bananas produced per year per hectare.
That translates into progress on what is contemplated in specific objective 1, aimed at “sustainably improving the production conditions, productivity and quality of Fairtrade bananas.”
Currently, 80% of the production units covered by SBO integrate elements of adaptation to climate change within their production processes, compared to 47.2% recorded on this same aspect at the start of the project.
In addition, 8 of the 11 participating small producer organizations consider that they have high or very high skills in management in management, marketing, communication, and inclusion of young people and women. Before the project, only two organizations claimed the above, thus making significant progress in specific objective 2, aimed at “improving the skills of cooperatives in management, marketing, communication and inclusion of young people and women, to increase their competitiveness.”
Results achieved by the SBO project
Regarding SBO result 1: “Small Fairtrade banana producers improved the soil fertility of their banana plantations,” initially, 53.2% of producers implemented practices to improve fertility and conserve soil, compared to 93.3% (66.5% men and 26.8% women) registered at the end. In addition, 9 of 11 demonstration plots (81.8%) have improved soil quality.
That means that, after SBO, more producers adopt practices to improve fertility and soil conservation and seek a better balance with the improvement of crop nutrition, soil cover, application of compost, biological pesticides and efficient microorganisms, as well as with waste management and crop density.
On the other hand, result 2, referring to the diversification of the cultivation practices of producers, has been fulfilled through the implementation of micro-factories of ecological inputs and pilot plots for diversification.
At the beginning of the project, 32.5% of the producers used organic fertilizers and biological pesticides in their production units, and only 5.9% had managed to diversify their production units. Meanwhile, in the end, 93.35% (65.36% plots led by men and 27.93% by women) use organic fertilizers, efficient microorganisms, and biological pesticides, and 42.5% (29.61% men and 12.85% women) have diversified their production unit with the introduction of crops, beekeeping or another activity that promotes ecological balance and contributes to generating additional income.
Regarding result 3, which refers to “cooperatives improved their management, marketing, and communication skills,” initially, only two organizations considered that they had high or very high skills in management, marketing, communication, and inclusion of young people and women. At the end of SBO, 8 of 11 organizations considered they have high or very high skills in the mentioned topics.
In addition, 93.55% (35.48% women and 58.06% men) of the people participating in the training processes affirm that they have increased their business, commercial, and communication skills and can respond to the demands of the market and buyers.
Regarding result 4: “cooperatives improved the inclusion of young people and women,” 51.28% (40 of 78 of the women and young people participating in the final evaluation) report having improved their leadership skills in their cooperatives. The project sought to strengthen their capacities to exercise their leadership in their organizations when occupying decision-making positions.
At the start of the project, of the 103 decision-making or board positions available in the organizations, 26 (25.9%) were occupied by women and 8 (7.2%) by young people. At the end of SBO, of the 111 decision-making or board positions identified, 33 (29.73%) were occupied by women and 11 (9.91%) by young people.
Products of the SBO project
- In summary, the following actions were carried out with the participating organizations in Peru and the Dominican Republic:
| 11 participatory diagnoses of banana production factors. |
| 11 sustainable management plans. |
| 11 diagnoses of business, managerial, marketing, or communication capabilities and 11 plans for strengthening these topics. |
| 11 diagnoses on gender inequalities and the situation of young people, and the development or updating of 11 inclusion policies for women and young people. |
- Regarding the Field Schools and Leadership Schools, the following were developed:
| 2 Field Schools s for producers and technicians, 1 in Peru and 1 in the Dominican Republic. |
| Producers and technicians participating in the original Field Schools shared their knowledge with another 300 producers from the 11 organizations, through replicas of the schools. |
| 2 Management training schools (1 per country), for employees, managers, and members of the board of directors of the organizations, complemented by business technical assistance. |
| 2 Leadership schools for women (1 per country). |
| 2 Leadership schools for young people (1 per country). |
Other actions:
- The implementation of 9 micro factories to produce effective microorganisms, organic fertilizers and pesticides, 4 in Peru and 5 in the Dominican Republic.
- Support the participation of organizations in a national meeting in the Dominican Republic and of 2 producers – 1 man and 1 woman – in the World Banana Forum.
Below is a list of organizations that were part of the SBO Project:
| ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN THE SBO PROJECT | COUNTRY | NUMBER OF MEMBERS |
|---|---|---|
| Cooperativa Agraria APBOSMAM | PERÚ | 430 |
| Cooperativa Agraria de Pequeños Productores de Banano Orgánico San Antonio de Padua (CAPEBOSAN) | PERÚ | 384 |
| Cooperativa Agraria APPBOSA | PERÚ | 520 |
| Cooperativa Agraria Alto Grande Santa Sofia (COPAG) | PERÚ | 168 |
| Asociación de Pequeños Productores Orgánicos de Querecotillo (APOQ) | PERÚ | 400 |
| Asociación Agrícola Noroestana (ASOANOR) | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 100 |
| Asociación de Productores de Bananos Orgánicos del Valle de Azua (AZUABANA) | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 46 |
| Bananos Ecológicos de la Línea Noroeste (BANELINO) | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 310 |
| Asociación de Bananeros de Castañuelas (CASTALÑUELAS) | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 50 |
| Asociación de Productores de Bananos ‘Las Mercedes’ | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 47 |
| Asociación de pequeños productores La Santa Cruz | REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA | 110 |
TOTAL MEMBERS OF THE SBO PROJECT ORGANIZATIONS
After the implementation of the first phase SBO project in Peru and the Dominican Republic by CLAC with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD), Carrefour, Max Havelaar France and Fairtrade Deutschland, it is possible to highlight that the results achieved contributed to strengthening sustainable livelihoods for the 11 participating organizations of small Fair Trade banana producers, which were actively involved in this effort.
These results in the implementation of the project made possible the approval of the second phase of Sustainable Banana Organizations, which CLAC will implement together with producers.
