Skip to main content

Are Bananas going extinct?

As one of the top five staple foods in the world, bananas might soon become extinct due to an advancing fungal disease known as the Sigatoka complex. Agronomists fear that this disease could wipe out the world’s banana supply in the next 5-10 years.

The Sigatoka complex consists of three fungal diseases – black Sigatoka, yellow Sigatoka and eumusae leaf spot. They are lethal as they cripple the immune system and match the metabolism of the host plant. This means that the fungi can replicate enzymes to penetrate the plant’s cell walls, which enable it to feed on other carbohydrates and sugars.

The disease is forcing farmers need to step up and make 50 fungicide applications (annually) to their banana crops. Up to 35% of banana production expenditure is for fungicide applications. However, many farmers cannot afford this and end up either growing inferior quality bananas and switching to other crops.

How will the possible extinction of bananas impact global food supply?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Asia-Pacific nations poised to sign the world’s largest multi-lateral trade agreement, RCEP, in 2020

After six years of negotiations, more than a dozen countries in the Asia-Pacific are poised to sign the world’s largest trade agreement, known as the Regional Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP), in 2020. This agreement would boost commerce among participating countries by lowering tariffs as well as standardizing customs rules and procedures. The RCEP will widen market access, especially for those countries that do not have existing many bilateral trade agreements in place. Will India pay a price for its decision to stay out of the RCEP? Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/asia-pacific-nations-poised-to-sign-the-worlds-largest-multi-lateral-trade-agreement-rcep-in-2020/

Spire shares business advice to start-ups on Indonesian market entry

On 17 July, Spire participated as a market advisor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Market Validation Program in Jakarta, Indonesia. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Spire Research and Consulting Group held sessions with Singaporean companies planning to expand their business into Indonesia. Jeffrey pointed out the utility of high-tech approaches for start-ups entering Indonesia, such as online advertising, usage of the Internet of things (IoT), data analytics and even Artificial Intelligence (AI). These approaches enable starts-ups to bypass mature importer-principal relationships that may be hard to overcome through conventional means. He also shared with individual companies his thoughts on developing customized strategies for Indonesian market entry. Get more information :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-shares-business-advice-to-start-ups-on-indonesian-market-entry/

Success factors for developed economies

As economies continue to become more developed, what key factors constitute to success? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. With more developed economies on the rise, growth is essential through ecosystems that require adequate nurture to enable productivity, growth and innovation. It is equally important to maintain the entrepreneur spirit and innovation with a culture that supports unorthodox thinking, creativity along with risk-taking. Another key factor for economic success is the education system. The quality determines the ability to push future leaders, designers, inventors and thinkers to think out of the box and nurture innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Read more:  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/success-factors-for-competitive-economies/

Breaking gender rules through video-gaming

Computer games have traditionally been developed with men in mind. Sadia Bashir from Pakistan is breaking with this tradition. She is the owner of PixelArt Games Academy and a member of Forbes’ 30 under 30 for Asia 2018. Working towards bridging the gap between industry demand and education by providing training in video game development, Sadia has been in the field since she was 13 years old. Intel is also working towards the same goal as Sadia, having recently invested USD300 million towards gender diversity in the gaming sector. Will the gaming industry embrace gender diversity? Read here more:https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/breaking-gender-rules-through-video-gaming/

Spire speaks to US firms about Southeast Asia’s Silver market

Spire was honored to participate in a webinar organized by the US Commerce Department as well as Muziyi Advisory, the organizers of the ELDEX event. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting group, shared his insights on the growing “silver” market opportunities in Southeast Asia. Leon shared that the number of persons aged 65 and above is projected to double by 2035 across several ASEAN countries, with Indonesia expected to have the largest elderly population of around 30 million, double its current elderly population. The fastest ageing markets in the region are Singapore and Thailand followed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s third largest region in terms of “silver” product and service revenue, but the fastest growing one. With an annual growth rate of 15 per cent, Asia is ranked among the top three nursing care markets in the world. Improving the social security system, enhancing th...