Financial challenges of banana growers on pest and disease in checkered farm: A phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

This study aims to comprehend how banana growers handle their challenges. We have seven (7) participants in in-depth interviews (IDI) with a farming experience of 55 years in operation. This study used the qualitative phenomenological research approach to delve into the experiences of banana growers facing financial challenges related to pests and disease. Further, the study results show that banana growers experienced financial hurdles as fusarium inflicts significant financial losses on owners, impacting both earnings and income, expenditures like high cost of materials, labor cost, and fertilizers, and low production due to pest and disease infestation in their banana plantation it reduces the banana production. Hence, they cope by accessing loans to aid the financial problem, prioritizing savings which growers can build a financial cushion to address unexpected expenses such as the purchase of inputs for disease control or equipment maintenance, and alternative income for supplementing their daily needs and to aid their financial challenges. Further, the insights gleaned from the results reveal that banana growers were driven to work hard regardless of the financial difficulties they faced in their banana plantations.