Experimental Science for the ‘Bananapocalypse’: Counter Politics in the Plantationocene

Background

Colonial and post-colonial forces have shaped Mindanao's plantation landscape for over a century through territorial control, scientific management, and silencing dissent. This history fuels community conflicts and concentrates power by devaluing people and displacing local ecologies—a context scholars term the 'Plantationocene.' Today, the Philippine banana industry faces a major crisis: the "incurable" Panama Disease (TR4 fungus). This virulent strain threatens the vital export sector, yet agro-chemical developers currently have no effective chemical solution. Media warnings of an impending "bananapocalypse" highlight this critical moment for Mindanao's agricultural economy.

Goals and Methods

The authors introduce this experimental method, “science-in-vivo,” developed locally, as a form of counter-plantation politics challenging standard science. Drawing on Mindanao fieldwork (2016-18), they feature Isidro, who invented Crop Vaccine via “science-in-vivo” inspired by dreams and forest microbes. His "field-before-lab" process cultures natural antagonists, blending human, non-human, and spiritual elements in knowledge creation. This playful, decolonial science subverts conventional elimination-focused agricultural methods, suggesting paths for transformative action within restrictive plantation environments.

Conclusions and Takeaways

This research presents "science-in-vivo," using a local "Crop Vaccine," as a viable solution to Fusarium Wilt TR4 for banana growers. This invention reshapes industry relationships by managing conflicts rather than eliminating them. It views the fusarium fungus not as inherently bad, but as a controllable antagonist once ecological balance improves. Growers using Crop Vaccine reduce chemical inputs like herbicides and fertilizers. Its surprising success—healthy plants emerging near diseased ones—integrates non-secular beliefs (like divine providence) with scientific management. By challenging chemical reliance, science-in-vivo suggests transforming industrial agriculture from within, an opportunity amplified by the TR4 crisis.