Where Aurelia walks between the rows of banana plants near her home in Guatemala, the trees once stood tall and heavy with fruit. Now, their leaves are curled and dry. Some have toppled. Others never bore fruit at all.
'My plantation is dying.' - Aurelia.
Aurelia’s words capture the quiet devastation on her farm. This isn’t a one-off season. It’s not a bad patch of weather. This is climate change. And it’s already turning life upside down for people who grow the world’s favourite fruit.
Bananas: more than just a fruit
In many parts of the world, bananas are more than a healthy snack—they're survival.
They’re the fourth most important food crop globally and a major source of calories and income for over 400 million people. But the conditions that bananas need (steady warmth, regular rain and rich soil) are disappearing fast.
Droughts. Floods. Heatwaves. Fungal diseases. The climate crisis is destroying the harvest of banana farmers.
In Latin America and the Caribbean—where most of our supermarket bananas are grown—nearly two-thirds of the most suitable land could be lost by 2080 if temperatures keep rising.
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‘We used to bring bananas and different types of fruit from our land...That is not happening anymore... I am very worried about what I’m going to do with my children.’
The climate crisis and debt are trapping people in poverty. It doesn't have to be this way.
'It came earlier than we thought'
For years, scientists warned this would happen. But farmers like Aurelia never expected the worst to arrive so soon.
‘In the past there was a prediction that this would happen in the future, but it has come earlier, and this is because we are not taking care of our motherland, our ecosystems...’, Aurelia shares.
In her community, the impacts are everywhere. Failed crops. Empty baskets. And behind it all, a rising sense of fear for their children, for their land and for what comes next.
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What is uncertain, is perhaps this situation is going to worsen in the future, and we lose this whole plantation. This is going to be a huge issue for me.
The challenges aren’t just from changing weather. The climate crisis is also helping deadly diseases to spread. Diseases like Fusarium TR4 and Black Leaf Streak are spreading in hot, wet conditions, causing long-term damage to banana plants.
The Cavendish variety—the one we most often see ion supermarkets—is especially vulnerable. Because all its plants are genetically identical, a single disease can wipe out whole plantations, putting farmers’ incomes at even greater risk.
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A system that’s failing famers
‘We’re not taking care of our motherland,’ Aurelia says. And she’s right.
The climate crisis is being driven by the emissions of wealthier countries and a global food system that values profit over people. While banana farmers, like Aurelia and Sophia see their crops fail, the companies that dominate the supply chain continue to profit.
‘Bananas are not just the world’s favourite fruit, but they are also an essential food for millions of people,’ says Osai Ojigho, Christian Aid’s Director of Policy and Campaigns.
‘We need to wake up to the danger posed by climate change to this vital crop. The lives and livelihoods of people who have done nothing to cause the climate crisis are already under threat.’
The lives and livelihoods of people who have done nothing to cause the climate crisis are already under threat
What needs to change
Christian Aid is calling for urgent action to protect banana farmers and the communities that rely on them:
- Richer nations must cut emissions and meet their commitments to climate finance.
- Support must reach farmers on the frontlines, through fair pay, resilient crops and tools to adapt.
- Consumers can make a difference by choosing Fairtrade and organic bananas, which protect both people and planet.
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