Securing the future of the UK's favourite fruit
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Biosciences
Abstract
The UK is highly dependent on imported fruit and vegetables that make up eighty per cent of the market, compared with half of cereals and one sixth of meat and dairy produce. Yet, fruit and vegetables are a key component of a healthy diet, often overlooked in studies of global food security that tend to focus on the major grains. Reliance on imports makes the UK vulnerable to instabilities in international production and supply, placing the issue of resilience of the UK food system firmly in a global context. This vulnerability is epitomized by the banana, the most popular fruit in the UK by consumption, and the most important fruit in the world by production. More than five billion bananas are purchased in Britain each year, and the UK accounts for seven per cent of the global export market. Though hundreds of banana varieties are grown around the world for domestic consumption, only one variety, Cavendish, is internationally traded. The previous export variety, Gros Michel, was eliminated by Panama Disease (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense) in the 1950s, and now a new virulent strain, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), is emerging from Asia to threaten Cavendish. No alternative tradable varieties are available, and no chemical disease controls exist. If TR4 reaches Latin America and the Caribbean, supply to the US and EU will collapse, with significant impacts on the UK diet and on producers in the developing world. The vulnerability of the banana trade is an extreme case of the more general issue of imported crops that are vulnerable to emerging pests and diseases, for example citrus greening disease devastating oranges in Florida and California. Around the world efforts are underway to develop a resistant export banana variety, using both conventional breeding and genetic modification, as well as research into disease detection and alternative methods of control. However, the banana remains under-researched compared with the major crops, there has been little academic analysis of the resilience of the banana trade nor development of mitigation strategies to maintain supply or manage the impact of sudden catastrophe. In this multidisciplinary research programme, we will work with the UN FAO World Banana Forum (WBF) to collate detailed data on production levels, disease impacts, and mitigation methods. We will analyse patterns, trends and drivers of banana production, including pests, diseases, management, and climate, to provide robust models of production and how this could vary in future as diseases spread and the climate changes. We will test a new antifungal compound against TR4, to determine whether chemical control could mitigate production impacts while alternative resistant varieties remain under development. We will develop an economic model that characterizes the main features of the UK value chain, forming the basis for assessing the price transmission impacts following shocks in upstream markets and, by extension, the impact on UK consumers and the responses by UK food retailers and other market intermediaries. We will calibrate the theoretical framework and simulate the impact of projected production shocks in exporting countries on UK consumers, and derive the welfare impact for participants at each stage of the value chain. The banana market is politically sensitive, and over the past decade the price of bananas in the UK has declined, while production costs have increased, placing pressure on producers. Via the WBF, the UK charity Banana Link and the food sector consultancy 3Keel we will engage the UK retail sector and other stakeholders in rigorous key informant analysis of potential responses to vulnerabilities in the sector, impacts of prices rises on the UK consumer, feedbacks to producers, and strategies to improve resilience to production shocks. Our goal is to secure the future of the UK's favourite fruit, and provide a case study for improving the resilience of other vulnerable imported commodities.
Technical Summary
The UK is highly reliant on imported fruit and vegetables, an important component of a healthy diet. Import dependence potentially increases vulnerability to production shocks in producer countries. Globally, climate change and emerging pests and diseases increase the risk of production shocks for many crops. This is exemplified in the banana, the most popular fruit in the UK by consumption and the most important fruit in the world by production. Panama Disease Tropical Race 4 will cause the collapse of the global banana industry if it reaches Latin America and the Caribbean. Here, we address the major questions relating to resilience of banana production and supply in a global context, using an interdisciplinary approach with strong support from non-academic partners. First, we collate data and produce models of banana yield driven by climatic and management variables, comparing statistical models (GAMs) with process-driven models (GAEZ, Aquacrop) for national and sub-national (where available) yield data. We model projected future yields under climate change using RCP scenarios, comparing results to existing GAEZ projections. Second, we collate data and produce models of pest and disease spread risk among and within countries, using CABI observational data and other sources, and estimate production impact from known impacts and disease management mechanisms. Third, we test a novel antifungal chemistry on TR4, in comparison with existing chemistries, investing mode of action using microscopy and RNAseq, and testing the potential for resistance evolution. Fourth, we develop economic frameworks and econometric models to study transmission of production shocks on prices in the banana value chain, and potential to impact consumer behaviour. Fifth, we conduct stakeholder engagement workshops and interviews to inform of the potential impact and develop strategies in the UK retail sector to manage and mitigate risk, to improve resilience of the sector.
Planned Impact
Our multidisciplinary research programme brings together bioscientists, modellers, economists, social scientists, NGOs, UK retailers and a global network of researchers, producers, purchasers and stakeholders, under the umbrella of UN FAO World Banana Forum (WBF). WBF partners include major international companies - Chiquita, Dole, Fyffes, UK retailer Tesco, certification bodies - Fairtrade Foundation and the Rainforest Alliance, research organizations such as Bioversity International and Wageningen University and numerous organizations representing the interests of producers and consumers. Our UK partner organization, Banana Link, a founding member of WBF, is working closely with UK retail sector to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the banana trade. Our partner, 3Keel, works across the UK food chain on sustainability, particularly in relation to climate change. Our research staff will attend WBF meetings and interact regularly with WBF Secretariat, Banana Link and 3Keel to exchange information and update stakeholders on project progress. Our outputs will thus be improved banana yield models, understanding of changing pest and disease distributions and their impacts and methods of control (with MycoSciences and Croda), improved models of the value chain and holistic strategies for improving resilience of the UK banana market.
Specific benefits will be:
1. Agricultural modellers: we will develop yield models, implementing the FAO GAEZ and Aquacrop models specifically for banana. These models are currently missing from the literature.
2. Food security and climate change researchers: Our projections of climate change impacts on banana production will widen the food security and climate change debate beyond the major grains. Our multidisciplinary programme will serve as an example for the analysis of other vulnerable fruit and vegetable crops, such as citrus.
3. Plant pathologists: Benefit from increased understanding of basic biology of Foc, mode of action of broad spectrum antifungal where resistance is unlikely to emerge.
4. Agricultural industry: Few new antifungals are in development and resistance is emerging to many extant chemistries, with withdrawal of many antifungals due to environmental concerns.
5. The global banana trade: International trade is at risk ultimately due to low diversity of the traded variety. We will gather information on research into new varieties, and disseminate this through WBF to facilitate investment, reduce development time and inform policy.
6. The UK retail sector: Buys bananas mainly directly from producers. Our programme will identify regions of greatest risk, and provide economic analyses of production shock scenarios to allow planning for improved resilience of the sector.
7. Developing country producers: Producers will benefit from improved disease control through low cost, environmentally acceptable antifungals, and more long-term our analyses will result in greater efforts to secure supply and improve economic and environmental sustainability.
8. UK overseas development aid: many countries that export bananas to UK are significant recipients of official development assistance (ODA) from UK government. (Colombia is UK's largest supplier of bananas, receiving £7 million ODA in 2013). Improved agricultural security and larger trade receipts will reduce dependence on ODA.
Millenium Development Goals:
1. UK public health: Bananas are an important component of the UK diet, with greater nutritional benefits than many alternative snack foods. By maintaining supply, we will reduce likelihood of a sudden shift to less healthy alternatives.
2. UK consumers: we aim to contribute to resilience and long term sustainability of UK's favourite fruit by raising awareness of fair trade and real market value. This may lead to increased UK banana prices, in line with EU markets, but it may ensure that developing world producers can continue to meet UK demand.
Specific benefits will be:
1. Agricultural modellers: we will develop yield models, implementing the FAO GAEZ and Aquacrop models specifically for banana. These models are currently missing from the literature.
2. Food security and climate change researchers: Our projections of climate change impacts on banana production will widen the food security and climate change debate beyond the major grains. Our multidisciplinary programme will serve as an example for the analysis of other vulnerable fruit and vegetable crops, such as citrus.
3. Plant pathologists: Benefit from increased understanding of basic biology of Foc, mode of action of broad spectrum antifungal where resistance is unlikely to emerge.
4. Agricultural industry: Few new antifungals are in development and resistance is emerging to many extant chemistries, with withdrawal of many antifungals due to environmental concerns.
5. The global banana trade: International trade is at risk ultimately due to low diversity of the traded variety. We will gather information on research into new varieties, and disseminate this through WBF to facilitate investment, reduce development time and inform policy.
6. The UK retail sector: Buys bananas mainly directly from producers. Our programme will identify regions of greatest risk, and provide economic analyses of production shock scenarios to allow planning for improved resilience of the sector.
7. Developing country producers: Producers will benefit from improved disease control through low cost, environmentally acceptable antifungals, and more long-term our analyses will result in greater efforts to secure supply and improve economic and environmental sustainability.
8. UK overseas development aid: many countries that export bananas to UK are significant recipients of official development assistance (ODA) from UK government. (Colombia is UK's largest supplier of bananas, receiving £7 million ODA in 2013). Improved agricultural security and larger trade receipts will reduce dependence on ODA.
Millenium Development Goals:
1. UK public health: Bananas are an important component of the UK diet, with greater nutritional benefits than many alternative snack foods. By maintaining supply, we will reduce likelihood of a sudden shift to less healthy alternatives.
2. UK consumers: we aim to contribute to resilience and long term sustainability of UK's favourite fruit by raising awareness of fair trade and real market value. This may lead to increased UK banana prices, in line with EU markets, but it may ensure that developing world producers can continue to meet UK demand.
Organisations
Publications
Bebber D
(2022)
The long road to a sustainable banana trade
in PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET
Bebber DP
(2019)
Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana.
in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
Cannon S
(2022)
Multi-site fungicides suppress banana Panama disease, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4.
in PLoS pathogens
Chaloner T
(2021)
Plant pathogen infection risk tracks global crop yields under climate change
in Nature Climate Change
Chaloner TM
(2020)
Geometry and evolution of the ecological niche in plant-associated microbes.
in Nature communications
Fones H
(2020)
Author Correction: Threats to global food security from emerging fungal and oomycete crop pathogens
in Nature Food
Fones HN
(2020)
Threats to global food security from emerging fungal and oomycete crop pathogens.
in Nature food
Description | Nutritional diversity is a key element of food security. However, research on the effects of climate change on food security has, thus far, focused on the main food grains, while the responses of other crops, particularly those that play an important role in the developing world, are poorly understood. Bananas are a staple food and a major export commodity for many tropical nations. We have shown that for 27 countries-accounting for 86% of global dessert banana production-a changing climate since 1961 has increased annual yields by an average of 1.37 t h/ha. Past gains have been largely ubiquitous across the countries assessed and African producers will continue to see yield increases in the future. However, global yield gains could be dampened or disappear, reducing to 0.59 t /ha and 0.19 t /ha by 2050 under the climate scenarios for Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5, respectively, driven by declining yields in the largest producers and exporters. By quantifying climate-driven and technology-driven influences on yield, we also identified countries at risk from climate change and those capable of mitigating its effects or capitalizing on its benefits. We modelled the influence of climate change on the most damaging disease of a major tropical food plant, Black Sigatoka disease of banana. Black Sigatoka emerged from Asia in the late twentieth Century and has recently completed its invasion of Latin American and Caribbean banana-growing areas. We parametrized an infection model with published experimental data and drive the model with hourly microclimate data from a global climate reanalysis dataset. We defined infection risk as the sum of the number of modelled hourly spore cohorts that infect a leaf over a time interval. The model showed that infection risk has increased by a median of 44.2% across banana-growing areas of Latin America and the Caribbean since the 1960s, due to increasing canopy wetness and improving temperature conditions for the pathogen. Thus, while increasing banana production and global trade have probably facilitated Black Sigatoka establishment and spread, climate change has made the region increasingly conducive for plant infection. |
Exploitation Route | Climate risk analyses can be incorporated into planning of future agricultural capacity building by different producer countries. Disease risk models can be used to predict requirements for disease control measures. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |
Description | Preliminary results from our work on remote sensing of banana plantations have been used by a remote sensing company (Opus Insights, Netherlands) to identify risk areas for Fusarium Wilt TR4 in Peru. These results are preliminary, and will be reported on publication of our remote sensing methods and other outputs. Our findings have been extensively cited in a recent GIZ-funded report on "Climate change and its effects on banana production in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador" by HFFA Research GmbH (a consultancy firm) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. This report has been used to develop climate change policy for the banana sector by the Subgroup on Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Biodiversity Conservation of the UN FAO World Banana Forum. |
First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | Agritech Catalyst |
Amount | Ā£5,350 (GBP) |
Funding ID | PID 207375 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2018 |
End | 02/2018 |
Description | Eden-Exeter Collaboration Fund to study biological control of Panama Disease |
Amount | Ā£2,937 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Eden Project |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | GCRF Impact Accelerator Award |
Amount | Ā£11,500 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BGIAA10 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Horizon 2020 |
Amount | ā¬Ā 3,987,404 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 727624 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 08/2017 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Preparing for Fusarium Wilt of Banana in Latin America and the Caribbean |
Amount | Ā£43,515 (GBP) |
Organisation | Waitrose Limited |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2019 |
End | 12/2023 |
Description | Remote sensing led monitoring and forecasting of global banana production |
Amount | Ā£4,970 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2019 |
End | 10/2019 |
Title | CReg.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana |
Description | Example of JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature, canopy surface moisture, and RH for a region of Costa Rica, January 2000. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/CReg_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dise... |
Title | CReg.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | Example of JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature, canopy surface moisture, and RH for a region of Costa Rica, January 2000. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/CReg_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dise... |
Title | CReg.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | Example of JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature, canopy surface moisture, and RH for a region of Costa Rica, January 2000. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/CReg_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dise... |
Title | Fungal and Oomycete cardinal temperatures (the Togashi dataset) |
Description | We collated and analysed temperature responses, specifically the minimum (Tmin), optimum (Topt) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures that comprise the 'cardinal temperatures', of various biological processes for 695 plant-associated microbes (631 fungi and 64 oomycetes) reported in "Togashi, K. (1949). Biological characters of plant pathogens: temperature relations. Meikundo". Cardinal temperatures can be used to derive temperature response functions, or thermal performance curves, using mathematical forms such as the beta function. The biological processes for which cardinal temperatures have been measured vary in their degree of host interaction. Experimental measurements for rates of growth in culture and often spore germination occur under axenic conditions, while infection and disease development occur as interactions with the host plant. Fruiting body formation, or fructification, and sporulation may or may not be measured in planta depending on experimental conditions. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.tqjq2bvw6 |
Title | Guapiles.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana |
Description | JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature and RH for comparison with Marin et al. (2003) data |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Guapiles_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_... |
Title | Guapiles.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature and RH for comparison with Marin et al. (2003) data |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Guapiles_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_... |
Title | Guapiles.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | JRA55 estimates of canopy temperature and RH for comparison with Marin et al. (2003) data |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Guapiles_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_... |
Title | Marin.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana |
Description | CSV file of latent periods and incubation periods published in Marin et al. (2003) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Marin_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Title | Marin.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | CSV file of latent periods and incubation periods published in Marin et al. (2003) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Marin_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Title | Marin.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | CSV file of latent periods and incubation periods published in Marin et al. (2003) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Marin_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Title | Uchoa.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana |
Description | AUDPC, temperature and LWD data abstracted from Uchoa (2010) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Uchoa_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Title | Uchoa.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | AUDPC, temperature and LWD data abstracted from Uchoa (2010) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Uchoa_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Title | Uchoa.csv from Climate change effects on Black Sigatoka disease of banana. |
Description | AUDPC, temperature and LWD data abstracted from Uchoa (2010) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Uchoa_csv_from_Climate_change_effects_on_Black_Sigatoka_dis... |
Description | Bananageddon Documentary production |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are partnering independent film makers to produce a documentary on sustainable banana production, to be titled "Bananageddon". The film is being funded in partnership with Imperial College. We will contribute interviews, content expertise, and data visualizations for the documentary. |
Collaborator Contribution | The documentary will increase our ability to reach a wide audience regarding sustainability issues in banana production and trade, helping us to meet our impact objectives. |
Impact | The documentary is currently in production. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | ETH Zurich resilience analysis |
Organisation | ETH Zurich |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Our research group is providing analysis of extreme weather impacts on banana production in the Dominican Republic, for an interdisciplinary analysis of resilience of the banana supply chain from the Dominican Republic to the UK. |
Collaborator Contribution | ETH Zurich are working with banana producers in Dominican Republic to understand the impacts of Hurricanes Maria and Irma on banana production and recovery. ETH Zurich will supply ground-truthing data for our remote sensing analyses. |
Impact | No outputs to date. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Eden Project Collaboration |
Organisation | The Eden Project |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We are developing a research collaboration with the Eden Project, that aims to investigate the use of companion planting in the control of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense ("Panama Disease"). We will employ metagenomic techniques, using our sequencing tools at Exeter, to investigate changes in the soil microbiome in control and companion-planted soils. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr. Rachel Warmington, Plant Pathologist at the Eden Project, is establishing experiments and will assist us in preparing soil samples for analysis. |
Impact | We have co-supervised two undergraduate projects at Exeter University, addressing biological control of banana diseases. We have been awared a NERC GW4+ DTP CASE studentship with the Eden Project, beginning in September 2018. Our partnership is being developed into educational materials at the Eden Project. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | FAO |
Organisation | Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) |
Department | World Banana Forum |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The economists associated with this award visited the FAO in Rome in April 2017. We met with the economists associated with the World Banana Forum to discuss our methodological approach to measuring price shocks and to discuss data issues. We also met with a wider range of experts who work on food security issues more generally as well as those who work on climate and TR4 issues. |
Collaborator Contribution | They informed us of their work programme and their priorities and we discussed how our approach may interact with their priorities. They also highlighted the resources that would be allocated to understanding TR4 issues across all divisions in the FAO. |
Impact | The outcome is to develop further collaboration in the future not just with the World Banana Forum who have a direct interest in this issue but also across other divisions who are focussed on disease and climate issues. In that context, the interaction was inter-disciplinary insofar as economists were interacting with plant scientists and value chain experts. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Remote sensing led monitoring and forecasting of global banana production |
Organisation | CorporaciĆ³n Bananera Nacional |
Country | Costa Rica |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We are analysing satellite remote sensing data to identify banana plantations in Costa Rica and other countries. |
Collaborator Contribution | CORBANA are providing ground-truthing data for satellite-derived estimates of banana plantation locations. CORBANA hosted a meeting in September 2019 to discuss the project, which members of the Exeter team attended. University of Sussex is assisting with development of efficient computational methods for the analyses. |
Impact | We obtained a small grant (£8000) for STFC FN+ to develop this collaboration. We presented preliminary results of the project at an STFC conference in Manchester on 5-6 December 2019 |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | UN FAO World Banana Forum |
Organisation | Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) |
Department | World Banana Forum |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We have invited the WBF Coordinator, Farrah Adam, to join our GCRF-IAA funded meeting in Colombia, along with banana producer organizations from Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Belize and Costa Rica. The meeting will take place on 27-28 March 2017. The WBF Coordinator brings experience in connecting diverse organizations involved in global banana production. |
Collaborator Contribution | WBF have put our research team into contact with organizations involved in the banana trade, for example the fruit importer Mack. We regularly join WBF teleconferences to discuss banana production and trade issues with other WBF member organizations. |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Waitrose Agronomy Group |
Organisation | Waitrose Limited |
Department | Waitrose Agronomy Group |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I will be the main supervisor of a PhD on biological control of banana disease, co-funded by Exeter University and Waitrose Agronomy Group. In addition, I am co-supervisor of a PhD on detection of banana disease, funded by Waitrose Agronomy Group CTP, at Warwick University (lead supervisor Prof. Murray Grant). Both PhDs will start October 2019. |
Collaborator Contribution | Waitrose Agronomy Group is part-funding a PhD on biological control of banana disease. |
Impact | None to date. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Title | Mapping banana plantations using satellite-borne synthetic aperture radar |
Description | We have developed algorithms to map banana plantations using Sentinel 2 SAR data. With funding for a scoping project from the STFC Food Network+ (SFN) programme we have worked with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sussex, who have complementary expertise in satellite data analyses, allowing the scaling up of our mapping methods onto high performance computing infrastructure. We are also collaborating with CORBANA in Costa Rica to ground-truth our estimates of where banana plantations are found. Through these collaboration we recently completed preliminary mapping of large parts of Central and South America, and the Caribbean at a resolution of 10m, achieving an accuracy of 98%. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | We have presented preliminary outcomes to a group of industry stakeholders. We are now looking for additional funding to enable us to develop a global map of banana plantations. |
URL | https://bananex.org/2020/03/04/toward-a-global-banana-map/ |
Description | Article describing BananEx research project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Published a short article describing the BananEx project and risks to banana production and trade in the online magazine. The magazine, which is viewed by thousands of will report downloads and reads of the article after 3 months. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.adjacentopenaccess.org/farming-environment-marine-sustainable-news/exeter-university-tack... |
Description | Article on banana disease in New York Post |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Article "Bananas could go extinct due to fungus outbreak, scientists say" published in New York Post, written by Ben Cost, published 24 October 2023 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://nypost.com/2023/10/24/lifestyle/bananas-could-go-extinct-due-to-fungus-outbreak-scientists/ |
Description | IInternational conference presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presented new framework for assessing the impact of shocks in the banana (and other commodity) markets which takes account of the global characteristics of the 'missing middle' in the global market. This was the first presentation at an academic conference of this new framework. The audience comprised of academics with expertise in commodity market analysis. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | ITV News |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Chris Choi (ITV News) for a piece on banana disease. Item appeared on ITV News on 10 November 2019. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | International conference presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of empirical results relating to impact of weather fluctuations on export prices across banana exporting countries. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | International conference presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at international conference relating to econometric methodology that reported new results relating to weather fluctuations and prices in the banana export market. The audience comprised of researchers in theoretical and empirical econometrics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | International conference presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This presentation involved the presentation of 'new' research results relating to the impact of climate events on the UK banana market and the lack of price transmission of shocks to UK consumers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Interview in the Guardian |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by the Guardian on implications of gene editing for crop protection, specifically for fusarium wilt of banana. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jun/18/scientists-scramble-to-stop-bananas-being... |
Description | Interview on Farming Today (BBC Radio 4) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed about potential impact of Panama Disease TR4 on banana production and global banana trade, in context of BananEx research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x19h2 |
Description | Interview with Wired magazine |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Wired magazine on implications of gene editing for crop protection. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.wired.co.uk/article/cavendish-banana-extinction-gene-editing |
Description | Interviewed by Simon Bates on BBC Radio Devon |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Simon Bates on his breakfast show on BBC Radio Devon on 13th October 2016. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Invited departmental seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited departmental seminar at the University of Bournemouth |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Keynote address at ACORBAT 2018 conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Keynote address at the ACORBAT 2018 congress in Miami, 4th May 2018. ACORBAT is an international banana congress attended by delegates from industry, academia, and third sector, primarily from across Latin America. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.expoplaza.ec/acorbat-2018-3/ |
Description | Keynote presentation at CORBANA International Banana Congress 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk on climate change effects on banana production to an international meeting of banana production and trade industry members. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://congresointernacionaldebanano.com/ |
Description | Presentation on BananEx at the World Banana Forum conference, Geneva |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The BananEx project was presented to delegates at the 3rd World Banana Forum (WBF) conference in Geneva on 8-9th November 2017. The UN FAO's WBF conference is one of the largest international conferences on banana production and trade, attended by delegates from across the policy, industry, NGO and research sectors around the world. The presentation was highly successful in generating interest for collaboration with BananEx from both UK importers and retailers, and producer organizations in developing countries. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2017 |
URL | http://www.fao.org/world-banana-forum/wbf3/wbf3/en/ |
Description | Presentation on disease impacts on banana production |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 20 industry representatives from UK and international retailers and importers attended a workshop in London on 19th February 2018 to discuss risks to sustainable banana production and trade. Members of the BananEx team gave talks on risks from climate, disease and price shocks, followed by interactive discussion on risk assessment and mitigation options. The participants mentioned interest in further discussions relating to taking action to mitigate supply chain risks, via a regular industry forum. We are in process of discussing ways in which to build further collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Stakeholder engagement workshop, London 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | We held a half-day workshop with representatives of some of the UK's largest retailers and food importers, along with the secretary of the UN FAO World Banana Forum and NGOs including Banana Link and Rainforest Alliance, and representatives of the UK Global Food Security Food System Resilience programme. The research team presented their findings, followed by discussion on research priorities, and establishment of a UK banana network to promote knowledge exchange and best practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Sunday Times review article on banana sustainability |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dan Bebber was interviewed for a review article on banana sustainability, written by journalist Harry Wallop. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/unpeeled-the-inside-story-of-britains-favourite-fruit-banana-bwsn... |
Description | Talk on plant pathogens and climate change at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I gave a talk on the responses of plant pathogens to climate change at the Sainsbury Laboratory, to around 30 researchers. I met with Prof Peter van Esse, Dr Sarah Schmidt (also working on Panama Disease), and Dr Diane Saunders (working on wheat stem rust). We are developing research collaborations together. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |