Climate and biodiversity protection for banana cultivation of the future: FRUIT LOGISTICA event provides information

Radolfzell, 29.03.2022: Climate change and biodiversity loss are the megatopics of the coming decades for agriculture and agricultural supply chains. Changes have also been noticeable for years in growing countries in the global South. What does this mean for the banana market of the future? The Del Campo al Plato (CAP) project and the Action Alliance for Sustainable Bananas (ABNB) will be exploring this question in a high-level event at FRUIT LOGISTICA on April 6, 2022 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. The leading trade fair for the fruit trade will take place in Berlin from April 5-7.

Following an opening address by Felicitas Röhrig from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Alban Kisife from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), the event will present the consequences of climate change for banana cultivation. Dr. Sophia Lüttringhaus from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research presents possible perspectives, models and adaptation measures resulting from a study on climate change and banana cultivation.

What do the results of the study and the current situation in the producing countries mean for banana cultivation in the future? What do stakeholders along the supply chain need to be prepared for and how can measures to preserve biodiversity help to mitigate the consequences of climate change at the same time? This topic will be discussed in a panel discussion with Stephan Carbach (Head of CSR Purchasing International at Kaufland Stiftung & Co. KG), Hugo Hays (Head of Compliance Fyffes, Costa Rica) and Martin Schüller (Head of Development Policy Fairtrade Germany). Andrea Brüstle (ABNB) and Dr. Thomas Schaefer (CAP, Global Nature Fund) will moderate.

The ABNB and CAP have worked intensively on this topic in recent years. The discussion will be followed by the presentation of the publication “Climate and Biodiversity Handbook”, which will be published in the summer. The handbook describes thirty practical measures in seven thematic areas for a climate-adapted and biodiversity-friendly banana cultivation of the future. In a “Voluntary commitment by German and international players in the banana sector”, stakeholders from the ABNB have pledged to work together to mitigate climate change on the basis of these seven topics and to invest in adapting the banana supply chain to climate change. Signatories comment on motives and next steps.

Further information on the event program

Further information on the “Del Campo al Plato” project

The German Action Alliance for Sustainable Bananas ABNB is a forum for dialog and action. It brings together representatives from trade, import, politics, consumer protection, civil society and trade unions. The aim is to bundle the activities of a wide range of players in Germany and promote them along the entire supply chain. Activities at national level are closely coordinated with the World Banana Forum, which pursues these objectives at international level. The action alliance was initiated by TransFair in fall 2014. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has been providing the ABNB with advisory and financial support on behalf of the German government since October 2015. www.bananenbuendnis.org

The aim of the “Del Campo al Plato” project is to integrate biodiversity as a megatopic in international agricultural supply chains. The project uses bananas and pineapples from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic to show how this can be done. The project is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the NGOs Global Nature Fund (GNF) and Bodensee-Stiftung on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) with measures in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Europe. www.delcampoalplato.com