New products from banana stalks to raise farmers' income

(Updated 7:52 p.m.) Banana stalks have industrial uses that can give banana growers additional income, government-funded research has found.

 

Banana stalk fiber may be used in pulp paper production and composite fiber boards, with researchers noting that the stalk is also a source of dietary extenders for meat products such as burgers, frankfurters and ham. 

 

The research was spearheaded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research and supported by Unifrutti Corporation, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the Department of Science and Technology and the Fiber Industry Development Authority of the Department of Agriculture.

 

“Finding uses for the peduncle other than for compost was challenging," Dr. Mary Ann Tavanlar, researcher at UPLB-based National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, said in the bureau's statement Thursday.

 

“Various products were developed from this lowly material using readily available equipment and simple technologies. Instead of being left to rot in the field, the peduncle can be utilized and thereby can emancipate small-holder farm income," Tavanlar said. 

 

Juice squeezed from the stalk can fortify ready-to-drink calamansi juice with potassium and sodium; serve as potassium supplement fertilizer for hydroponically grown lettuce, chives and arugula; and be used as liquid potassium fertilizer for cash crops like kale, pechay, kale, okra, carrots, parsley, eggplant, and tomato.

No plans have yet to be made for production of these products, since the project was created strictly for research and development purposes.

"Our purpose for the project is just exploratory, but interested companies and farm cooperatives can try to produce the products," Tavanlar told GMA News Online.

"Farm cooperatives in particular can benefit from the project. Out-of-school youths and women in these areas can learn how to make these products and earn income for themselves," she added.

Tavanlar said the products made from banana peduncle could drum up more interest if marketed as niche products. But despite the peduncle's versatility, corporations and small-scale farms have yet to express interest in using it in their products, because of high production and shipping costs.

"One of our partners was very enthusiastic about making composite fiber boards, but logistical problems and costs is preventing them from producing more,"said Tavanlar.

For their two-year research, the scientists had to import banana peduncle fibers all the way from Mindanao at P250 per kilogram, said Tavanlar. Drying also became an issue, since the research was done during the peak of the rainy season. Ovens and clothes dryers had to be purchased to dry the fibers, the costs of which had to be covered by researchers themselves.

However, if processing areas are set up near banana farms, transportations costs would go down and the versatile banana peduncle might become suitable for mass production. – Rie Takumi/VS/BM, GMA News