Banana production in St Lucia

The move from sugar production to bananas in the early sixties in the agricultural sector in St Lucia brought new hope to the farmers. Banana cultivation was less labour intensive than sugar cane and certainly was not reminiscent of conditions under slavery as was sugar cane.

Banana cultivation gave farmers the confidence and the ability to take charge of their lives as it brought very good financial returns. It allowed for small farmers as well as large plantation owners to participate.

So profitable was the cultivation of bananas particularly to the smaller producers – who were mainly women - that it was referred to as ‘green gold’.

The impact of the banana industry soon became very visible on the St Lucian landscape particularly in the rural areas. Even small peasants were able to purchase land, build decent houses and have a good standard of living. They could afford to send their children to colleges and universities locally and overseas. This prosperity filtered through the entire economy and gave the island much vibrancy as infrastructure and superstructures were put in place to meet the needs of people.

During that time, St Lucia received preferential treatment for the sale of its bananas in the United Kingdom. It benefited as a member of the ACP countries under the Lomé Convention.

But globalization and changes in the European market conditions since 1993 have had a disastrous impact on St Lucia. Because of St Lucia’s small size, it is not able to produce the large quotas which will enable it to compete effectively on the open market.

The result is that farmers have been forced out of banana production and with no alternative means of income. Many of them are unskilled in other areas and do not possess high levels of education. They are now unable to sustain themselves and the lifestyle that they had become accustomed to. They are not able to meet their commitments to their banks and other financial institutions. They can no longer finance their children’s education at institutions of higher learning. Many even have difficulty in providing for their children to attend school locally.

According to some commentators, there have been positive effects of globalization: they argue that it is creating more efficient banana farmers, enabling them to meet high market standards.

However the impact is particularly calamitous to women. Many rural women worked as peasants on the banana farms, and although they do not own farms, they made a decent living working for the plantation owners and were able to support their families. The sudden loss of such income has left these women destitute.

Lera Pascal