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Family banana plantation in Vale do Ribeira changed course by switching from the conventional model to an organic agroforestry, with crop diversification, technical support, and commercial banana production on a scale, showing how rural planning can transform a traditional property into a sustainable business.
In Registro, in Vale do Ribeira, a family banana plantation stopped following only the conventional cultivation model and began integrating a system of organic agroforestry with 18 different crops, combining commercial production, agricultural diversification, and sustainable management.
Leading the initiative is producer Eduardo Valdetaro, who took over the family area, rejected the use of pesticides, structured a new production model, and now cultivates 24 hectares of bananas in consortium with cocoa, cupuaçu, juçara, eucalyptus, African mahogany, and guanandi.
Family banana plantation in Vale do Ribeira underwent productive change
According to the Sebrae News Agency of São Paulo, Eduardo arrived at the property to take care of the family’s banana plantation but disagreed with the idea of maintaining the use of pesticides in production.
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Before advancing to a new model, the producer stopped using herbicides but realized he could not convert that conventional production directly to organic cultivation under the existing conditions in the area.
Given this scenario, the solution found was to lease the banana plantation and invest in another agricultural structure, based on planned agroforestry, scale production, and broader organization of the cultivated species.
From this change, the new system began to combine banana cultivation with other crops, creating a logic of productive diversification that altered the way the rural property was used.
Instead of concentrating the entire area on a single species, the farm was organized to allow different plants to share the same agricultural space, with economic and environmental functions within the project.
This strategy also allowed keeping the banana as the main crop, already established in the region, without giving up new sources of income and a model less dependent on conventional cultivation.
Organic banana gained ground with variety developed by Embrapa
To structure the production, the chosen variety was the banana maçã-princesa, described by the source as resistant to Sigatoka and developed by Embrapa to address important challenges of the crop.
After research, planning, and soil preparation, planting began with specialized technical support, both to define the project design and to organize the species included in the system.
The choice of variety and the design of the area indicate that the change did not occur merely by substituting inputs, but through a complete reorganization of the productive model adopted on the property.
On the nine hectares dedicated to bananas, Eduardo harvests about 20 tons of fruit per season, according to the Sebrae News Agency of São Paulo.
This volume shows that the agroforestry adopted on the property was not treated merely as an environmental experiment or conservation practice, but as a system also aimed at commercial production.
With a focus on economic viability, the implemented structure seeks to combine scale, organic management, and diversification, becoming a possible reference for other producers in the Vale do Ribeira interested in alternatives to the conventional model.
Composting reduced costs in organic production
Among the bases of organic production, the composting of turkey manure gained a central role in the management adopted by the producer, especially by replacing chemical fertilizers used in traditional systems.
According to the source, this exchange generates an approximate 35% savings for Eduardo, connecting cost reduction, utilization of inputs, and agricultural practices more aligned with organic cultivation.
This point became one of the central differences of the project, as it shows that the productive change did not depend solely on an environmental decision, but also on a financial reorganization of the crop.
In practice, the area began to function with a combination of decisive factors for sustainable agriculture, including the appropriate choice of the main crop, diversification, soil preparation, technical assistance, and control of production costs.
As a result, the banana remains the commercial axis of the property, while the other species expand income possibilities and contribute to the balance of the cultivated area.
Sebrae-SP monitored the structuring of the agroforestry
During the structuring of the project, the property began to receive support from the ALI Rural program of Sebrae-SP, an initiative aimed at providing technical knowledge, innovation, and guidance to rural producers.
In Eduardo’s case, the service is also related to promoting the agroforestry system to farmers in the region, especially those interested in alternatives to conventional farming.
The local rural innovation agent Luma Victor, who is also an agronomist, highlighted to the Sebrae News Agency of São Paulo that the diversification of crops is among the main advantages of agroforestry.
According to her, the producer stops relying on just one species and starts adding other sources of income to the planting area, while also contributing to the environment.
In addition to technical support, the property also connected with the academic environment through an initiative by Sebrae-SP, which led Eduardo to present the system at Unesp during the Symposium on Innovation and Sustainability.
The presentation of the case in a technical space reinforced the practical dimension of the experience, bringing together organic farming, soil management, production scale, and crop consortium in a region historically linked to banana production.
Vale do Ribeira maintains vocation for banana with new agricultural model
Recognized for the strength of banana cultivation in São Paulo, Vale do Ribeira offers an important regional context to understand why the banana remained the basis of the project developed by Eduardo.
By keeping this crop at the center of the business, the producer took advantage of an already existing agricultural vocation in the region but reorganized the way of producing within an organic and diversified proposal.
The difference lies in the structure of the area, which stopped relying on a model based on chemical inputs and started following a logic of organic agroforestry, with greater species diversity and technical planning.
Crops like cocoa, cupuaçu, juçara, guanandi, eucalyptus, and African mahogany enhance the interest in the experience because they show that agroforestry is not just about planting trees around the crop.
In the system described by the source, these species fulfill different functions and present varied return potentials, composing a productive design that seeks scale, income, and conservation in the same rural space.
For Eduardo, sustainable production needs to be viable and profitable for the farmer, a vision that appears in the project’s design and the way the property was reorganized.
This logic does not abandon the commercial production of the crop but seeks to reduce risks and costs by diversifying land use and expanding the economic possibilities of the area.
The harvest of 20 tons per season in part of the property adds weight to the case and reinforces the interest of producers looking for alternatives to conventional banana management.
It also draws attention to the fact that the experience contradicts the idea that producing organically and diversifying necessarily limits scale or reduces the commercial potential of the crop.
In the case reported by the Sebrae News Agency of São Paulo, the agroforestry was planned specifically to operate on a productive scale, with bananas as the main crop and other species as part of the economic and environmental composition.
The decision made within a family property gained regional relevance by combining agricultural tradition, research, technical assistance, and market in an area historically linked to banana production.
Previously conducted under a conventional model, the banana plantation began to share space with other crops and practices aimed at reducing the use of chemical inputs.
If a family banana plantation managed to become an organic agroforestry with 18 crops and a production of 20 tons per harvest, how many other Brazilian farms could change course with planning and technical assistance?
