Coordination as Management Response to the Spread of a Global Plant Disease: A Case Study in a Major Philippine Banana Production Area

Abstract

An integrative management approach to the spread and emergence of global plant diseases, such as the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), entails a combination of technical measures and the responsiveness and awareness of area-specific constellations supporting conditions conducive to interactions and coordination among organizations and actors with different resources and diverse interests. Responses to banana diseases are mostly studied through technical and epidemiological lenses and reflect a bias to the export industry. Some authors, however, indicate that cross-sector collaboration is crucial in responding to a disease outbreak. Earlier studies on the outbreak of diseases and natural disasters suggest that shared cognition and effective partnerships increased the success rate of response. Hence, it is important not to focus exclusively on the impacts of a pathogen at farm or field level and to shift attention to how tasks and knowledge are coordinated and shared. This paper aims to detect whether and how the emergence of Foc TR4 is a driver of coordination. The case study focuses on the interactions between a variety of banana producers and among a range of public and private actors in southern Philippines. The analysis identifies distinct forms of coordination emerging in the context of three organizational fields responding to Foc TR4, which underlie shared capacity to handle and understand the spread of a global plant disease. The research is based on qualitative key informant interviews and document analysis and on observations of instructive events in 2014–2017. Analysis of the composition and actions developed in three organizational fields leads to distinguishing three theory-driven forms of coordination: rule-based, cognition-based, and skill-based. The combination of these three forms constitutes the possibility of a collaborative community, which conditions the implementation of an integrative management approach to mitigate Foc TR4.

Ex Ante Assessment of Returns on Research Investments to Address the Impact of Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 on Global Banana Production

“…To improve granularity, the priority assessment cost-benefit analysis requires geographic distribution of banana production within country by cultivar group, production system, market destination, and potentially even degree of organization among growers. This last dimension has been highlighted by Montiflor et al (2019) in their analysis of the institutional dimension of management of response to the outbreak and spread of Foc TR4 in the Philippines.…”

The long road to a sustainable banana trade

“…Though TR4 is feared as an existential threat to commercial banana production, much remains to be learned about the potential impact of this disease. For example, the Philippines has maintained relatively stable yields over recent years, despite the presence of TR4 across a large fraction of the production area (Montiflor et al, 2019).…”

The Advance of Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 in Musaceae of Latin America and the Caribbean: Current Situation

“…Race 4 of the fungus poses significantly high risks to the world supply of Musaceae since it can directly affect the production of bananas and plantains. In Foc TR4-infected plants, rapid spread and infection can lead to a complete loss of yield [ 14 ]. An important characteristic of the fungus is represented by the longevity of the fungus in the soil; therefore, the lands infected by Foc TR4 cannot be used for plantations of Musaceae or other crops for decades, and this results in a drastic change in production, with new lands (which have not been intervened) as the only resource [ 11 , 15 ].…”