Development in banana producing regions Transnational Wealth, Local Poverty

By María Eugenia Trejos

Despite having enormous potential wealth, the economy of the Atlantic region of Costa Rica has been almost exclusively based in banana production and shipping, the later achieved primarily through the activity of the first. This economic dependency has resulted in an increase in wealth for transnational companies.

The humid Atlantic region of Costa Rica has “an important quantity of recently deposited soil with moderate to high levels of fertility which permits the cultivation of many crops” and a large extension of natural wealth and beauty which could potentially help develop different sectors of the local economy including activities such as fishing, tourism, and industry. However, this region is characterized by little productive diversity, with the economy concentrated on two economic sectors: shipping and banana production (JAPDEVA and others, 1999:5-7).

Bananas, amongst the principal export products of Costa Rica, are primarily produced in the Atlantic Region. Approximately a third of the workers of this region are employed in banana production. However, international marketing and most of their production within Costa Rica is controlled by three large corporations: Chiquita Brands International (formerly United Fruit Co.), Dole Corporation, and Del Monte Fresh Produce.

In 1999, these 3 corporations controlled 65 (38%) of the 171 plantations in the region , and controlled the sale of the fruit for 94 (55%) of the remaining plantations. Those plantations not controlled by the corporations, are commonly referred to as “independent” in banana production statistics. However, they are not actually independent because of their marketing relationships with the companies.

Historically, the market for bananas has experienced many fluctuations in terms of quantities and prices, so much that the situation for one year is not enough to allow predictions for the market tendencies in future years. What must be mentioned is that in the 1990´s, the production per hectare increased from 1960 boxes in 1994 to 2385 boxes in 1999 (CORBANA, 1999:50).

Exclusive Benefits

Banana producing companies exercise power over the government to implement policies that work in their favor. For example, the Right of Export tax was lowered in 2000 to 12% of what it was in 1992, a difference that amounts to a loss of thousands of dollars for Costa Rican society. Different Costa Rican governments have supported banana production through many different methods including land concessions, loan extensions, creations of organizations to promote banana production, and production subsidies. In addition, the government has done little to enforce or regulate working conditions, worker living conditions and/or their freedom to organize. One example of the government’s failure to protect workers was a few years ago when it took no actions after BANDECO fired hundreds of workers and then rehired them with lower salaries and fewer benefits.

In other words, when the companies must defend themselves in the international market or when they must negotiate credits or prices, the government provides all of their available resources to support them. However, when a worker’s rights are violated, the government doesn’t provide any support and allows market forces to dictate, market forces that are controlled by the large companies.

The question must be asked: “Is the wealth of banana production distributed to the population of the region?” In order to answer this, we will look at the actual social conditions within the banana producing regions.

Working Conditions

If we answer the above question from a labor perspective, we see that there has been a small reduction in employment accompanied by an increase in productivity (therefore, it could be inferred that there has been an increase in the number of non-documented workers). Simultaneously, since the 1980´s, solidarity associations have expanded (anti-union worker-employer associations), weakening labor unions, practically eliminating them from collective bargaining and from advocating worker rights. This has created significant changes in labor conditions, such as an increase in new methods of contracting workers that do not respect worker rights nor provide many worker benefits. We have also seen subcontracting of workers, laying off of workers before they complete their three month trial period, and the use of day laborers, contracted only to complete certain tasks. These day laborers are not asked to provide documents and do not sign contracts, which means they have no legal protection against firing. Undocumented migrants or undocumented workers are most commonly hired under these arrangements.

Salaries are commonly paid by “piece work”, which because the daily production goals are predetermined, act as a way to prolong work days without requiring the companies to pay overtime. With this pay system, workers must complete the daily production quota before leaving. It is said that the long work day can be shortened by increasing intensity and speed of working in order to finish and leave earlier.

Social services:

If we try to answer our question looking at social indicators, we find the following. Most of the population of the region, like that of the rest of the country, has completed elementary school. However, access to high school and university education is less, and drop out rates are higher. According to Mora, migrant workers are an enormous part of the workforce on banana plantations, but often hold unstable positions. As a result, they have very poor attendance and performance in classes (Mora, 1998:73). Other reasons for poor school attendance may be the great distance between living areas and schools, and little access to public transportation.

In terms of health, the banana plantations not only are there more cases of pesticide related illnesses than in other parts of the country, but also have shown an increase in infectious diseases such as dengue, malaria, etc. In addition, despite efforts that have been made to care for newborns, infant mortality in the province of Limon is almost half that of the national level.

In terms of housing, Limon has the third highest level of non-resolved housing problems in the country. New government housing projects show the following problems:

• Deficiencies in community infrastructure including poorly maintained access roads, insufficient lighting, insufficient drainage for run-off, etc.

• Lack of community services including transportation, health, and education. (Acuña y Olivares,1999:44).

In the case of company provided housing:

• In some instances, the same house is given to two families, which not only causes overcrowding, but is also a potential source of problems amongst families.
• Rooms are very small, and are usually occupied by at least two people.
• Many of the plantations are located far from urban centers, and in some cases there is not sufficient transportation, leaving many workers “isolated” within the plantations.
• In some plantations there are no telephones, and workers must travel several kilometers to the nearest phone, which creates problems in the event of an emergency.
• In most housing quadrants there are primary, but not secondary, schools. This, combined with the lack of transportation and long distances, makes it difficult or impossible for students to attend high school.

The Environment

The environment has been severely effected by banana production. This is evident in the fact that over 160 thousand hectares of forest were lost due to the expansion of the banana industry during the 1990´s (Foro,1998:40). In addition to deforestation, the use of agrochemicals has caused the contamination of soil, water (fish), and air (housing and communities), and garbage dumps close to rivers have polluted waterways with plastics and other waste from production.

Economic exces

A conservative estimate, provided by the Central Bank and the General Controler of the Republic, affirms that banana companies’ appropriated surpluses represent, an amount at least equal to the salary and other earnings of all of the banana workers. An amount equal to 15% of this surplus is suppossed to be paid in taxes and an additional 18% is suppossed stay within the region (if social security and other payments are included). It is said that approximately 300,000 inhabitants of the region could survive on only 18% of the surplus earnings of the banana companies. However, these surplusus earnings have not stayed within the banana producing regions, where there are the lowest indecis of development in the country.

COSTA RICA: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT INDECES
BANANA PRODUCING REGIONS – 1999

The system of banana production used by the companies demonstrates their disrespect fot all forms of life. The chemicals used have contaminated the air and water, the health and safety of workers have been put at risk, and trees have been cleared for plantations. The accumulation of capital by banana producing companies comes at the cost of the health of workers and the environment.

What is the cost of a child that has to leave school or cannot attend high school? What is the price of a person that is poisoned from the indiscriminate and irrisponsible use of agrochemicals?

Because human life cannot be given a monetary value, these questions do not have an answer. However, we do know that it could be possible, with the wealth generated by banana production, for this current situation to be modified. If changes were made to diversify the economy and lessen the regions dependence upon the monoculture production of bananas, the social and economic situation could change as well.

Bibliography

Acuña, Guillermo y Olivares, Edith 1999: La población migrante nicaragüense en Costa Rica: Realidades y Respuestas. Documento de Trabajo, serie Gobernabilidad democrática y desarrollo. Fundación Arias para la Paz y el Progreso Humano; Centro de Recursos para el Desarrollo Sostenible de los Asentamientos humanos en Centro América. San José, Costa Rica.

Banco Central de Costa Rica 1998: Sector agropecuario. Cuenta de producción.

Contraloría General de la República: Centro de Documentación, archivos de computadora, 2000. Departamento de Municipalidades.

Foro Emaús 1998: Revista Foro: Historias secretas de un enclave bananero. San José, Costa Rica.

JAPDEVA, MOPT, Sector Agropecuario, Universidad Nacional, Triángulo de Solidaridad 1999: Limón hacia el siglo XXI: potencialidades y oportunidades para el desarrollo humano". Limón, Costa Rica.

Mora, Eduardo 1998: "Los niños de las bananeras", en Ciencias Ambientales, No.14, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.

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Side notes

The productivity per hectare of banana production surpassed an average of 1960 boxes in 1994 to 2385 in 1999.

In February of 2000, the tax per box of bananas exported was 1% of its value,

The loss of more than 160 thousand hectares of forest from the expansion of banana produciton at the end of the 1980´s demonstrates the severe impact this industry has on the environment.

Since the 1980´s, solidarity associations have been promoted, weakening unions , which have almost been eliminated from collective bargaining and assuring worker rights.

Many changes have occurred in prodution, such as the use of new types of contracting that do not respect labor rights or worker benefits.