"Myanmar’s Kachin State Sees Boom in Chinese Banana Cultivation", 3 December 2020

Northern Myanmar’s Kachin State is in the midst of a boom in commercial banana cultivation driven by cross-border investment from China, according to a new report. The report from Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG), published on November 30, outlines the recent rapid expansion of tissue-culture banana plantations in the state, intended almost entirely for export to the Chinese market. [...]

This rapid expansion of banana cultivation in Kachin State has come at a cost. The report states that the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on the plantations has led to major environmental and health impacts. [...]

While some local smallholders have benefited from renting their land to Chinese investors for banana cultivation, these agreements are frequently “obtained through coercion,” involving pressure from community leaders, or the provision of misleading information. Many smallholders have lost their land altogether without consultation, particularly in cases of land left empty by people displaced by conflict. [...]