Health and Pesticides

Because of the market’s standards and the companies’ interest in achieving the maximum productivity possible in order to attain the highest economic profits, the conventional banana that is produced in Costa Rica requires the use of large amounts of pesticides. Nothing cultivated in Costa Rica uses more chemicals than the banana. About 35% of all the pesticides used in this country are destined for the production of the conventional banana. On average, approximately 35 Kg. of active substances per hectare are applied to the bananas each year, in contrast to the 3 Kg., for example, that are applied in Ecuador’s plantations, the world’s leading banana producer. The use of these products has grave implications, not only for the consumer, but also for workers and their families (because of the serious health problems it provokes), the surrounding communities, and the natural ecosystems.

The Costa Rican banana industry is totally dependent on agrochemicals. At least 268 different pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and wormicides) are authorized for banana cultivation in Costa Rica. Pesticides comprise more than 30% of the total cost of banana production . Many of the pesticides used on the bananas are exceedingly poisonous and therefore restricted. Many of these form part of the “dirty dozen,” a list of the most toxic pesticides in the world. The amount of pesticides used in the Costa Rican banana industry reaches up to 40 Kg. per hectare a year, whereas in other countries, such as Ecuador, it reaches only about 3 Kg a year. In addition, many of the banana workers apply the pesticides without training and without using the necessary precautions. As a consequence, the workers in the Atlantic Region suffer up to 70% of the total pesticide poisonings in the country. Many of these pesticides are not “approved” for the banana plant, but go as far as the ground, the rivers, and the sea, contaminating all forms of life as it passes through. One of the gravest contamination problems is the spraying area, which indiscriminately reaches public streets, houses, springs of water, and the workers themselves.