Question

Read the article about banana farming.
Write a summary about how one banana farm in Costa Rica is becoming more environmentally friendly.
Your summary should be about 100 words long (and no more than 120 words long). You should use your own words as far as possible
Rainforest Alliance is an organisation that works in 76 countries around the
world. Its aims are to conserve rainforests, support the communities that
live and work in them, and to restore balance to our planet.
The banana industry used to be known for environmental destruction.
However, many farms have managed to turn this reputation around by
following Rainforest Alliance guidance. I visited one farm in Costa Rica to
see this for myself.
Standing on a platform overlooking the farm, there were banana plants
as far as I could see, and bunches of green bananas hung down from the
plants. Apart from the soft purple banana flowers, all I could see was green.
This is such a contrast to many other banana farms. On a conventional farm, it would be considered
bad practice to let grasses and flowers grow on the ground beneath the banana plants. On this farm,
however, they are not removed. The farm therefore doesn’t need to use chemicals, unlike other
farms that rely on them to destroy the grasses and flowers. This is not only a financial benefit, but
also an environmental one.
I watched some workers checking fruit for size. When the bananas are large enough to harvest, a
worker cuts off the stem of the plant which the fruit is growing from. He then quickly slices the stem
into small pieces, and drops them around the base of the plant. By covering the ground in this way,
farmers are preventing the soil from being washed away when there is heavy rain. Over time, the
pieces will eventually break down. Using parts of the plants to improve the soil is not generally done
on conventional farms. However, Rainforest Alliance is helping farmers to see the advantages of
doing this. For example, most conventional banana farms have to replace their plants every few
years so that the quantity of fruit they produce is consistent. But this farm hasn’t yet had to replace
its plants, which is better for the environment. Also, its production rate has remained consistent year
after year.
I asked why many of the bunches of bananas were covered in blue plastic bags, as this didn’t seem
particularly environmentally friendly to me. The farmer explained that a bag helps to keep insects off
the fruit, and they also ripen faster in a bag. On conventional farms, much of this kind of plastic waste
is discarded, and ends up polluting rivers and lakes; sometimes it is even burned, which is worse still.
Neither of these practices takes place on this farm. Instead, the plastic is given a second purpose – it
is cut into strips that are put around the boxes of bananas when they are ready for transportation.
At the packing area, the bunches of bananas are washed in huge tubs of water, before being dried
and packed for export. The farmer has learned from Rainforest Alliance what the benefit of saving
this water is: it can be used again to water the banana plants in the fields.
From farm to grocery store, the banana supply chain is long and complex. It might seem that each
action described here is not very significant on its own, but added together, these actions bring great
benefits not only to farmers, but to the environment too

Answer 1

Answer:

The banana industry was acknowledged for environmental destruction.

However, many farms have controlled to show this popularity round by following Rainforest Alliance guidance.

One such farm in Costa Rica follows the following methods to ensure it's eco friendliness.

• They don't use weedicide or any type of pesticide
• They let the weed grow around the plant.
• They don't spray any insecticide or pesticide on the banana itself
• They cover the banana with a big plastic bag which is then reused while transportation
• They chop the plantain stem into small pieces and spread it across the the soil to prevent soil erosion and also acts as a natural manure.
• They reuse the water used for washing the bananas

The processes themselves might not seem very significant but when you look at the bigger picture it makes a huge significant difference and the farmers have realized this and have volunteered with the Rainforest Alliance.

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