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Food Production at a Local Scale

Banana Production in the Philippines

SUMMARY: THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

Lapanday is an example of the kinds of export plantations which grew rapidly in the Philippines between 1970 and the mid 1980s. The nature of this production unit, the decision-making processes, its links with the rest of the world and impacts on the local community can be understood only in the context of control by Del Monte, one of the three transnational banana companies.

Encouraged by the Philippines Government, this export industry was successful in capturing most of the Japanese market for bananas and produced much-needed export income and high profits for the Filipino firms which joined with TNCs to establish the industry. Yet the example also shows the major social dislocations to the pre-existing farming community in Southeastern Mindanao and the poor working conditions of low-paid plantation labourers. Finally, monocultural export industries have had a major impact on the local biophysical environment.

During the mid-1980s, after the change of ownership,  Lapanday's plantation workers formed an independent union and negotiated improved conditions with Del Monte. These included improvements in local roads, a community school, water reservoir and recreation area but wages remained low and relations between the company and the workers remained turbulent.

The example illustrates one of the basic problems of export industries controlled by agribusiness firms in developing countries. Secure market access is provided by the TNCs who also provide supplies and know-how. Most of the final market value of these high-volume, low price commodities, however, is captured `downstream' from the growers especially by the TNCs.

Under these circumstances, small contract farmers and agricultural workers alike have little bargaining power with the TNCs or plantation owners. Wages are depressed by the company's ability to recruit alternative workers from the large numbers of rural unemployed people in regions like Southeastern Mindanao. Workers displaced from traditional forms of food farming, and earning low incomes, or small farmers substituting cash cropping for subsistence production, may find that access to basic foodstuffs becomes more difficult especially in times of local food shortage.

Finally, the  Lapanday example shows the central importance of wealthy Filipino landowners and the Philippines Government in creating the conditions under which the banana export industry emerged in this way.