RDR defends banana industry

Banning aerial spraying is akin to giving up a major industry in the country.
Davao del Norte governor Rodolfo del Rosario has called on government leaders to carefully study the issue before considering the ban on aerial spray given its tremendous effect on the regional economy.
According to the governor, the banana industry, which is mainly concentrated in his province, is among the Davao region’s most potent economic drivers.
Aside from its importance to the country’s foreign exchange, banning aerial spraying, he said, would displace about 400,000 banana plantation farmers in the region alone.     
Moreover, Del Rosario is concerned with the dire consequence of the ban on Davao del Norte’s aim of attaining premiership this year.
As Davao del Norte hastens to keep in step with the rapid development happening around the region, Gov. del Rosario is afraid that an aerial spray ban would deal a great blow to the provincial economy.
“You cannot imagine what will happen to my province should the ban be imposed,” the governor told some officials from the National Economic and Development Authority 11.
“So, I call on the government to look into this issue in a more objective way,” he appealed.
Anti aerial spraying groups claim that the fungicide used to fight infestation by segatoka, is harmful to humans residing in the vicinity of banana plantations.
Del Rosario believes that the real issue is not so much the method of applying fungicide, whether aerial or ground spraying, but what type of chemical is being used. 
The governor strongly advocates the crafting and strict imposition of regulatory laws regarding aerial spraying instead of banning the practice outright.