National Agriculture Day offers a chance for all Australians to stand with the land – something the peak industry body for banana growers hopes will extend well beyond 24 hours.  

CEO of the Australian Banana Growers’ Council, Leanne Erakovic, said farmers across the country work tirelessly to provide top quality, locally grown produce and materials. 

“No one will ever tell you it’s easy. But despite extreme weather, increased red tape and rising costs, they will always tell you how passionate they are about what they do.” 

Australia’s banana growers supply every one of the 5 million bananas consumed in this country each day.  

“It takes around 9 months for a bunch of bananas to be grown and harvested – that’s 9 months of care that goes into every banana you pick up on your way to work, or pop in the fruit basket for your family.” 

Ms Erakovic added that with plenty of domestic supply, and growing regions free from some of the world’s most devasting banana diseases, the decision to consider importing bananas from overseas was a hard one to stomach.   

“We acknowledge the Federal Government has a process to follow, but importing bananas from the Philippines would create unnecessary and unacceptable risk for our farming families. 

“On top of the many day-to-day challenges of modern farming, this assessment essentially puts a question mark over the future of our industry.”   

She encouraged all Australians to support banana growers and Australian agriculture more broadly this National Agriculture Day by picking up some locally grown produce. 

“The best bit? There’s no need to limit yourself to one day. And as bananas are 100% Aussie grown, every time you purchase one you’re backing a local farmer.”