BananitA New Year´s ResolutioN

We talk and talk about climate change but most of the times none of us has previously consulted any scientific data.

So, our last question of the year is whether it would be better or not to become more curious about scientific media.

Because just as important as our questions are themselves, are the sources that we consult to get the answers.

Ergo, as we are at the start of a new year, let´s suggest the reading of scientific literature as a New Year´s resolution.

To begin with, here we would like to mention an article recently published on an issue of current interest … climate change, but combined with … bananas!!.

Do you believe climate change has a negative impact on bananas? Nonetheless, before drawing conclusions regarding how may be affected, it´s always better to gather before some accurate info. And that´s how, we have just ended on the following paper: “Impact of climate change on global banana yields revealed” from the University of Exeter (ScienceDaily, 2 September 2019).

On the whole, the impact of climate change on the overall agriculture has been addressed on numerous occasions. However, its specific effects on bananas have been less well-studied.

This recent study led by Dr Dan Bebber, predicts an unequal impact of climate change on the banana-producing countries.

His research indicates that some of them “may see an overall benefit in crop yields”, while others may have less favourable growing conditions. Therefore, Dr Dan Bebber states that the foreseeing of potential impacts of climate change on banana growing methods is an essential step toward its long-term continuity.

Maybe, this is just only one article and it has perhaps led you to new questions. So, we would like to encourage you and everyone to continue researching in this field. For instance, do farmers actually think about climate change´s influence in their day-to-day decision-making, or don´t they?. We have already found a very interesting article concerning this topic: “Risk perception and decision-making: do farmers consider risks from climate change?” (Authors: Anton Eitzinger, Claudia R. Binder, Markus A. Meyer). One thing, for sure, is that we will come back to this subject in a future BananitaBlog Post.

In the meantime, enjoy this New Year´s resolution! and ¡Happy 2020!