Hugh Rose says growing bananas to meet New Zealand's huge appetite would be a "very viable option for Northlanders", and knew of commercial growers grossing more than $150,000 a year. The former dairy beef farmer is chairman of Tropical Fruit Growers of New Zealand. Photo / Tania Whyte
Hugh Rose says growing bananas to meet New Zealand's huge appetite would be a "very viable option for Northlanders", and knew of commercial growers grossing more than $150,000 a year. The former dairy beef farmer is chairman of Tropical Fruit Growers of New Zealand. Photo / Tania Whyte
Bananas are the world’s most popular fruit and the Far North could become a major banana-growing region, bringing big environmental advantages for farmers, horticulture experts say.
Farmers are being inundated with the message that water quality must be improved, but the question of how remains a challenge for some.
According to one Far North horticulture expert, the profitable answer lies in growing the world’s most popular fruit locally.
Aaron McCloy has hosted two workshops this winter, sharing the basics about banana plantations, with another to be scheduled in Kerikeri.
He said farmers had been told they needed to improve their waterways, but many didn’t know how.
“The attractiveness of banana plants producing 10-20kg bunches within three years cannot be overlooked.”
McCloy and his partner, Elle Montgomery, run Far North Tropicals, while McCloy also teaches horticulture and science at Taipa Area School.
“Teachers need a second job these days, so I started this micro business.”
McCloy has been growing tropical plants for much of the three decades he’s spent living in Taipa.
When the numbers of people curious about banana growing got too high, the company introduced free workshops.
A banana growing workshop held in Awanui this winter drew 16 curious participants. Far North Tropicals' McCloy and Montgomery, pictured at centre, will be supporting the establishment of at least five new plantations in spring. Photo / Danielle McCloy
McCloy said farmers could make more money from their land, improve water quality and have drought and flood-resilient fodder for cows by growing bananas.
“Bananas are much more profitable than beef farming.”
“Government research estimates profits of $1500 per hectare for beef, but a farmer at our Awanui workshop reckoned he earned well below $1000 per hectare.”
McCloy said a planting rate of 500 banana stems per hectare — about 80 per cent of which would be expected to produce fruit — would yield 10-20kg of fruit per hectare per year within two or three years.
“Bananas would earn you $30,000 per hectare per year.”
As for fodder, McCloy said its easy availability was “a big deal” for farmers who’d faced droughts and floods.
“As long as you have a chipper, you can put the stems through and have bales of fodder available on demand. And the plants regrow to full height within three or four months.”
“Feed rates depend on whether they’re for beef or dairy cattle, but the amount of fodder is thousands of kilos per hectare of plants.”
According to Hugh Rose, chairman of Tropical Fruit Growers of New Zealand and former dairy beef farmer, “bananas have a huge uptake of nitrates and phosphates and cows love eating them”.
Rose said New Zealand was one of the world’s largest consumers of bananas with an average annual rate of 18kg per person.
Earlier this year, he estimated there were about 100 commercial hectares of banana plantations in Northland.
McCloy and Montgomery anticipated a busy spring ahead supporting aspiring growers, with five new plantations being established in Kawakawa, Kerikeri and Peria.
“Four of those are beef farmers who are diversifying, and making use of land that is not currently providing a good return.”
Elle Montgomery and Aaron McCloy will be hosting another banana growing workshop in Kerikeri. Connect with Far North Tropicals on Facebook for updates. Photo / Supplied
After attending one of McCloy’s workshops, the Swans decided to give bananas a go.
They own a hobby farm in Kaingaroa, where they have 34 animals and much of the land is not suitable for growing anything due to its former status as a pine plantation.
“We’re mainly in it for the environmental benefits.
“It’s good for our land and feeding our animals. We do have a nice dream we’ll be able to sell them, but that’s not the only reason we’re doing it.”
In spring, they’ll start with 400 plants in an area they’ve learned is well suited for bananas.
It’s wet, protected from the wind and just under a hectare in size with room to plant pups down the track.
The Swans said they believed estimated annual earnings of $30,000 a hectare could be “optimistic”.
“Some sort of co-operative local supply chain would be required to make that kind of money.
“We hope with a few of us getting together, we might be able to come up with a way to sell bananas profitably.”
Research published by Crown research institute AgResearch in 2021 offered a similar caveat alongside the benefits of using bananas in a farm-scale effluent system.
It noted there was opportunity for a new industry in Northland if fruit production supply chains were established.
“We’ve been doing our due diligence, but in the end you’ve got to take a bit of a risk haven’t you?” said the Swans.
“It’d be fantastic to be part of the new banana-growing movement in New Zealand.
“But even if we don’t sell very many, at least we can feed our cows and save on silage.”
Maungatepere-based wholesale nursery Kotare Subtropicals is also supporting growers through an upcoming free information session in Waipapa.
Owner Geoff Mansell said it would provide an overview of New Zealand’s banana industry, help growers market their fruit, and offer an opportunity for growers and newbies to pose their questions about growing, harvesting and post-harvest care.
