Neville Singh was born to be a banana farmer.
His family have farmed in the Byron Shire for more than 100 years, and longer still in India.
There was a point, however, when he thought his banana growing days were over. Competition from Queensland bananas pushed prices so low that his farm became unsustainable and he started working as a reseller.
It wasn’t until Cyclone Larry decimated the Queensland crop in 2006 and his supply dried up that he decided to get back to doing what he knew and loved.
Neville planted a 3.4 hectare crop on his property at Fowlers Lane near Bangalow and started selling direct at the local farmers markets and to shops, which has seen his farm flourish.
He now grows nine varieties of bananas. Cavendish and Lady Finger are the most popular, but he also has more unusual varieties like Ducasse, Plantain and Blue Java.
Neville’s bananas are known for their quality, consistency and most notably, flavour, which he says is thanks to our cooler climate and a slower maturing time than those grown further north: “when they grow slower they get all the good stuff into them,” he said. ” In Queensland they grow them in 12 months and it takes us 18 – it’s a big gap.”
Neville takes a low impact approach to farming, allowing grass to grow between his banana rows to stop erosion, and rather than spray weeds with chemicals, he mulches heavily with grass clippings and organic waste from the banana plants.
“Bananas are a pretty tough plant if you keep them pretty well healthy you have less problems,” he said.
“I use a lot of organic based fertilisers… I try to avoid chemicals because you’re killing your soil.”
He says he loves his work: “ I like being outdoors… I don’t mind getting wet or dirty. Sitting down in an office – I can’t handle that.”
