ReValueD

Costa Rica has established itself as an important player in the world agricultural market, particularly in the export of tropical fruits. With bananas and pineapples as the main agricultural products, the country has achieved a surplus in the trade balance and remains a net exporter. Thus, Costa Rica is the largest exporter of pineapples worldwide, representing 67.7% of global pineapple exports (FAO, 2020).

In pineapple production, agricultural waste has been of great concern for the country since it has generated negative externalities in the communities where the large pineapple plantations are located (Araya 2021). For example, with the proliferation of the stable fly that affects livestock in the area. Furthermore, pineapple production is surrounded by controversy due to the high use of agrochemicals for its production and the consequent contamination of soil and water (Araya 2021).

The introduction of the National Bioeconomy Strategy in 2020 has solidified Costa Rica's dedication to replacing fossil resources with renewable biological alternatives. This strategy seeks to promote the operation and financing of projects that, in addition to using biological resources, mitigate the impacts of humans on the ecosystem. For instance, the Bio-Business platform, established under this strategy, aims to support green investments that propose to use biological resources for the production of bio-based products. The platform identified a portfolio of 88 eligible projects in the country that work on the axes of the National Bioeconomy Strategy: “Rural development”, “Advanced bioeconomy”, “Biorefinery”, “Biodiversity and development” and “Green cities”.  Many of the projects even seek to generate solutions to problems such as agricultural waste management.

More questions remain about whether it is assumed that the development of the Costa Rican economy based on the Bioeconomy Strategy will be positive and sustainable. It is not clear how new value chains based on the revalorization of agricultural waste will contribute to solving, or on the contrary, exacerbating existing environmental and social problems. REvaluED aims to fill the gap of understanding the power dynamics, knowledge flows, and socio-economic and environmental dynamics in the pineapple sector.

References:

Araya, Andrés León (2021): Agrarian extractivism and sustainable development : The politics of pineapple expansion in Costa Rica. In Ben M. McKay, Alberto Alonso Fradejas, Arturo Ezquerro-Cañete (Eds.): Agrarian extractivism in Latin America. Milton Park Abingdon Oxon, New York NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Routledge critical development series), pp. 99–116. Available online at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367822958-6/agrarian-extractivism-sustainable-development-andr%C3%A9s-le%C3%B3n-araya.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020). Main tropical fruits. https://www.fao.org/3/cb6897en/cb6897en.pdf

Ghana is a country in West Africa bordering the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo, as well as the Gulf of Guinea to the South. Even though English is the country’s official language, Ghana is home to multiple linguistic and ethnic groups, like the Akan, Mole-Dagbon and Ewe.

During times of British colonialism, Ghana was known as the ‘Gold Coast’ based on its richness in natural resources like gold, cocoa, oil and timber. In 1957, under the leadership of the nationalist Kwame Nkruhmah, Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African country to gain independence.

Ghana’s economy mainly relies on its natural resources and the agricultural sector, which accounts for 54% of the country’s GDP and 40% of its export earnings. While cultivation mostly consists of staple crops like cassava, maize and rice, the export market relies on cocoa, cashew nuts and shea nuts. The tropical fruit sector, with a particular focus on pineapples and mangoes, is gaining growing significance in Ghana's export industry and holds the promise of ongoing expansion and economic growth.

Climate change, including hot temperatures and rainfall variability, put increasing pressure on Ghana’s agriculture, which is mainly comprised of rural smallholders with a mean farm size of less than 1.6 hectares and limited adaptation possibilities. This poses a significant challenge to the country's food security and economic stability.Addressing challenges related to post-harvest losses, market access, and climate resilience will be crucial for the agricultural sector's sustained growth.

The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of 7,641 islands with a total area of 298 thousand square kilometres. Based on the Census of Population and Housing by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country had a population of 109,035,343 in 2020. Moreover, it is mainly divided into three large island groups: Luzon with eight regions, Visayas with three regions, and Mindanao with six regions. These islands are rich in natural resources and have fertile lands with favorable climate ideal for crops and tropical fruit production such as banana, pineapple, coconut, papaya, and mango. The country mainly exports these agricultural products and tropical fruits to neighboring countries such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. In 2022, the agriculture sector contributed 8.9 percent to the total GDP, considered low compared to the services and industry sectors. Nevertheless, many families still rely on agriculture and fisheries as the primary source of income, especially in rural areas.