Banana plantation
Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana plantations are primarily found in equatorial regions, in banana exporting countries. The four leading banana export countries worldwide are Ecuador, Costa Rica, Philippines, and Colombia. Ecuador provides more than 33% of global banana exports. In 2004, banana producing countries totaled 130. Production, as well as exports and imports of bananas, are nonetheless concentrated in a few equatorial countries. 75% of total banana production in 2004 was generated in 10 counties. India, Ecuador, Brazil and China produced half of total bananas. Latin American and Caribbean countries led banana production up to the 1980s, and Asian nations took the lead in banana production during the 1990s. African production levels have remained mostly unchanged.
Kuk Swamp
Dated to 6,900 – 6,400 years ago, additional archaeobotanical evidence has been found showing the cultivation of bananas and sugar cane. Many banana phytoliths have been found in the cultivation plots of Kuk Swamp. Since bananas do not produce phytoliths in the same quantity and frequency as grass and other plants, researchers have concluded that the abundance of banana phytoliths found in a managed grassed landscape between 6950 and 6550 years ago suggests deliberate planting. The bananas grown at Kuk Swamp were Eumusa bananas, which developed as the most significant and largest group of banana domesticates. This makes Kuk Swamp one of the earliest sites in the world for the development of agriculture.