Bananas

Here in Costa Rica bananas make up 7% of exports, and according to dictionary.com a banana is defined as "A tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultiveated for their nutritious fruit." Also, according to ro.unctad.org "The banana is not a tree but a high herb that con attain up to 15 metres of height, and grow in tropical regions where the aberage temperature is 80 degrees F and the yearly rainfall is 78-98 inches." Production of a banana is a long and hard process because the time it takes between planting a banana plant and then harvesting it could last anywhere from 9 to 12 months.
Banana production system can differ between the different types of the producing areas. Plantations are mostly found in Latin America, and they not only take time and hard work to run but also huge investments in infrastructure and technology. Banana growing is very labour intensive because of several important factors in growing the banana. A banana plant requires intensive and individual care to obtain the required quality fruit; some individual cares are claering away of the jungle growth, propping to counter bending from the weight of the growing fruit, and probably the most important is irrigation during the dry season. After this long and intensive process of caring for the banana the harvesting season comes.
Bananas are havested when they are green and hard. In order to harvest the bananas there are two types of workers that are required to do this, and they are the ¨cutter¨ and the ¨backer¨. The cutter cuts down the plant; while the backer waits for the cut stem to land on a cushion on his shoulder. After the cutter and backer have done their job the bananas are then transported to packing shad where the bananas are removed by hand and are then washed. The final stage for processing them is that the bananas then go through quality control before they are packaged.