By Christian Aid Dr Muhammad Ismail Kumbhar | Aslam Memon
Bananas are the world’s most consumed fruit and the fourth most important food crop globally, following wheat, rice, and maize. More than 400 million people across the globe depend on bananas for 15–27 per cent of their daily caloric intake. Yet, this vital food source is increasingly at risk. A recent report by Christian Aid, a UK-based humanitarian organisation, has warned that the banana crop faces mounting threats from climate change, endangering both local livelihoods and global food security.
In banana-growing regions like Guatemala, the impacts of climate change are already visible. Banana growers there are witnessing firsthand how erratic weather patterns and rising temperatures are devastating their once-resilient banana plantations. Aurelia, a smallholder farmer in Guatemala, shared with Christian Aid: “The banana crops are dying off. The trees are folding down and dying. In the past, it was predicted that this would happen in the future, but it has come earlier… What’s uncertain is whether thi