Gesba

Despite its local fame, bananas are not an indigenous product of Madeira. Banana trees were introduced on the island during the settlement, sometime between the 15th and the 16th century. “Some people say that they came from China, it's not well known”, says Jorge Dias, president of GESBA. The acronym serves to identify the Banana Sector Management Company, a public company that owns the “Banana da Madeira” brand and works directly with around 3000 local producers – from whom it receives and places 21000 tons of fruit on the market per year. “80% of our production is of extra quality, the most quoted and best paid”, explains the person in charge.

We visit the property of one of these producers with Jorge, Quinta das Anoneiras. The name is even deceiving: there are no cherimoyas there, but there are a lot of bananas. They produce about 50 tons yearly, in an area of ​​1.5 hectares, and production in organic mode is growing. It was Francisco Serrão's grandmother, who started the exploration and today her grandson continues it, using new technologies — irrigation, for example, is controlled by a wireless system.

Banana unlike most other fruits has no harvest time, it is in a continuous production cycle. “We produce a third in the cold months and two thirds in the hot months”, says Jorge. The mother plant gives the first bunch, its cuts, the daughter grows, gives the second and so on. And the fruit does not need to be pollinated to grow either. “The banana tree is a giant herb, they are leaves without a trunk”, he explains. The plastic bags we see around the bunches serve to create a microclimate so that they grow faster. “But we are trying to abandon plastic and find more sustainable solutions”, warns the responsible.

For Jorge Dias, the fame of Madeira's banana is easy to explain. The island's good soil, with an acidic pH, provides slow but effective growth and aids in flavour. Then, the proximity to the market, which makes it very fresh for the customer. “We have two weekly expeditions that go from here to the mainland”, he says. Finally, the island's water quality — each banana tree requires 20 litres of water daily — also plays a part.