Issues

Disease Threats: Panama disease (or Fusarium wilt) is a plant disease that infects banana plants,  It is a wilting disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). The pathogen is resistant to fungicides and its control is limited to phytosanitary measures.

Impacts on Water Resources and Animal Life: Bananas account for a huge amount of water use and contamination. Since they require a constant level of moisture—neither too much nor too little—banana fields are interlaced with channels for irrigation and drainage, vastly increasing soil erosion. As a result, agrochemicals and silt are delivered into adjacent waterways 

Economic Dependency and Risks: Due to the heavy reliance on banana exports, market price fluctuations, climate change, or extreme weather events can have a significant impact on the economy. (Ecuador's banana production already accounts for over 30% of the global supply.)

Child Labor in Banana Production：Roughly 90 percent of the children HRW interviewed reported that they “continued working while toxic fungicides were sprayed from airplanes flying overhead. In an attempt to avoid harmful chemicals, children interviewed about their experience stated that they used various methods to avoid toxic chemicals: “hiding under banana leaves, bowing their heads, covering their faces with their shirts, covering their noses and mouths with their hands, and placing banana cartons on their heads.” About one in 20 Ecuadorian children in the 5-14 age group work—and four in five of these child workers toil on farms, according to data from USDOL released in its 2019