Banana farmers lose livelihoods as lava devours La Palma

Banana farmers lose livelihoods as lava devours La Palma

SeattlePI.com

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LAS MANCHAS DE ABAJO, Canary Islands (AP) — His home went first. Then the house his father built. Then the lottery stand and hardware store he owned succumbed.

Lastly, Antonio Álvarez had to watch as lava from a volcanic eruption slowly devoured the remaining pillar of his family’s wealth: the dozen acres he dedicated to growing the Canary Island banana that for generations has provided the agricultural lifeblood of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago.

“My father always told me ‘don’t make the house too big, it won’t make you money; invest in banana! The bananas will give you a house.' And it’s true,” Álvarez said. “When I filmed (the lava destroying) my father’s house, it was seeing him die all over again. That house was a part of him.”

Álvarez, 54, is one of thousands of farmers and workers on Spain’s La Palma island whose livelihoods have been put in jeopardy by the destruction wrecked by volcano that is still going strong six weeks after the ground first broke open on Sept. 19.

The regional government of the Canary Islands, an archipelago including La Palma located off the coast of northwest Africa, estimates that the volcano has already caused 100 million euros ($116 million) in losses for the island’s banana industry. Over 390 acres (158 hectares) of land used for banana farming have been covered by molten rock, and more than 700 additional acres (300 hectares) have been cut off after roads on the island's western side were enveloped by lava.

The banana growers association for the Canary Islands, ASPROCAN, estimates that around 1,500 of the island’s 5,000 owners of banana plantations have been hurt. Most owners have small patches of a few acres. Many, like Álvarez, have seen their land burnt and crushed. Others have lost harvests because they can't get to their...

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