Banana production is one of the main economic activities in Costa Rica and this is one of the products that generates the most foreign currency to Costa Rica through exports. According to data provided by Corbana, the main destinations for exports of the banana industry in 2016 were the European Union and the United States. The European Union got 54% of the national fruit and the United States 36.5% of the total banana production.
The same data shows that banana production in 2016 generated around $800 million per year and has become an important source of employment for more than 100 thousand families.
In 2017, Costa Rica broke the record, as the industry managed to export $127 million of boxes and generate $1037 million for the country. However, agribusiness brings environmental costs, mainly in the carbon footprint and water footprint, because it causes a great impact on ecosystems.
Given this, the World Banana Forum (WBF) developed a practical guide to measure and reduce the carbon and water footprint in banana production, which allows producers to standardize the management of their inventories, create information systems, and implement practices to reduce carbon emissions and water consumption.
In Costa Rica, the new guide is being used to carry out appropriate National Mitigation Actions (NAMA) specific to the banana sector, this line of action was declared of national interest by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica had already been making efforts, so it was selected in the World Banana Forum to develop a pilot project, as one of the pioneers in having the first banana plantations certified as carbon neutral.
According to Jorge Sauma, manager of Corbana, the idea is taking the same methodology used by the Costa Rican industry to other countries and agricultural sectors. By 2021, the goal is for the majority of the productive sector to be carbon neutral and reduce the negative impact of climate change.