Fresh Fruit Portal carries an interview with general manager of El Guabo Small Banana Producers Association, Marco Oviedo, about changes to the Ecuadorian banana industry which could see plantations replaced with tree crops.

Oviedo comments on the Ecuadorian Government’s proposed conversion, saying that agroforestry crops may not be able to provide growers with the weekly income they currently receive from bananas. Farmers would have to wait considerable periods before they see returns if they switch to agroforestry.

He calls for the government to compensate farmers and develop “a true banana policy based on promotion, which is that each producer must step up to his or her role to produce more and better.”

The interview looks further into price negotiations for Ecuadorian bananas.

Read the full story: A look at small banana producers in Ecuador