17 August 2019
Solomon Islands:� Consideration should be given to exporting banana chips to generate income and aid the communities especially in Makira.
Last week in a letter to the main newspapers in the Solomon Islands, I wrote about the possibility of establishing a �one community, one product� project; in line with the successful OTOP scheme in Thailand and based, initially, on the Japanese successful �one village one product idea (OVOP).
The OVOP scheme is a regional development programme which began in the Oita Prefecture in 1979.
�The idea was for one village to produce one staple product as a business to gain income and to improve the standard of living of the residents of that village.
�The Thai equivalent of OVOP is known as the OTOP programme and encourages village communities to make, improve and market the local products.
�Marketing of the products is arranged by the Thai government and gets help from Japan with overseas sales in the Japanese market via JETRO, the Japanese External Trade Organisation.
�OTOP products include a wide array of traditional handicraft, wooden objects, food, honey, fruit, pottery, fashion accessories, household items, pottery and cotton and silk garments.
In this letter I want to take the idea further and concentrate on Makira, being known as the banana capital of the Solomon Islands and where the people grow, use and depend on bananas more than anywhere else.
Makira hosts a rich diversity of bananas and one of the last strongholds of the Fei banana and edible diploids, some of which are considered as having played a part in the domestication of bananas.
I do not know whether any of the bananas grown in Makira are exported, unlike in Samoa, but maybe not due to the stringent import controls imposed by several regional countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
It occurs to me, however, that there could very well be a viable export market for sun-dried banana chips and a nutritional product found in many stores in Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, quite possibly also in the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Throughout South-East Asia unsweetened banana chips are delicately cooked in coconut oil for an all natural treat.
Much more than a treat, however, sun-dried banana chips have many health benefits, such as:
1.����An excellent source of potassium.
2.����They help cure an upset stomach by stimulating the production of mucus and cells in the stomach, thus creating a barrier between the stomach lining and the acids that cause upset stomachs and heartburn.
3.����Bananas have been seen to be useful in the treatment of goiters, which are enlargements of the thyroid gland.
4.����The pectin (a soluble fiber) in bananas helps fight off colon and pancreatic cancers.
5.����Bananas have antibiotic properties to help fight off infections and viruses.
6.����Bananas are excellent energy snacks, particularly for the after-activity period. They contain vitamins B6 and C, potassium, and dietary fiber.
7.�����During strenuous physical activity, your body loses a lot of these vitamins and minerals and eating a banana will help replace them and keep you going. Runners and bikers eat bananas after races for that reason. Bananas also contain more digestible carbohydrates than other fruit, calories from which the body burns off more quickly and easily than from protein or fat.
While banana exports from the Solomon Islands might not be feasible at this time the conditions for the cultivation of bananas are good, particularly in Makira, and the example set by Samoa should be considered for the longer-term export potential and income generation for the communities in Makira.
Samoa obtained banana plants from South Africa some years ago and created one or two initial plantations to test the plants suitability.�The result today is there are known to be 50,000 banana trees at the Ah Liki Farm and soon another 2000 trees there are expected to start fruiting next month.
Samoa now exports their quality bananas to New Zealand where they are readily bought out.
I hope this piece will be useful and prove to be an encouragement to the people and communities in Makira and, perhaps with the help of local investors, or indeed those from outside, consider the initial potential of developing an export market from sun-dried banana chips.
A small bag of banana chips on sale in Thailand averages US$4.00 but larger bags sell for US$20.00.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
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