A while ago we asked “(Where) does banana production have a future?” The study that provides answers to this question was published today and is now available for download.

It was commissioned by GIZ and analyzes the impacts of climate change on banana production in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Based on detailed climate data we projected banana yields in specific banana producing regions. Our results show that climate change impacts are heavily felt in the banana sector, which is an important source for income and food security in the region. Most regions will suffer from increases temperatures and also changing precipitation patterns and some regions will benefit from increased temperatures as these shift the local climate closer to the optimum for banana production.  Nevertheless, climate change increases the uncertainty for farmers because extreme events will occur more often and have larger impacts. Especially water availability is crucial for banana production. A wide-spread use of irrigation to adapt to climate change can be dangerous as it has repercussions on entire water sheds and ecosystems. In our study we also present other adaptation options and the impacts of banana production under climate change on biodiversity, farm economics and international trade.

More insights on the project can be found on our website. The full study is available for download here.

You can also register for an online presentation on December 10^th (3 to 4:30 pm CET) where our experts will present the results: https://www.bananenbuendnis.org/en/klima/