Inside Banana Farming with Equal Exchange- Pt 1

This past summer, Co-op Partners Warehouse Director Joleen Baker (second from right) and [former] Produce Buyer Ryan Tepe (second from left), along with staff from other Minnesota co-ops, had a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Rio y Valle, in Piura, Peru. They connected deeply with the farmers and families that grow the bananas that we move through our warehouse to bring to your shelves. In 2025, that was 3,110,400 bananas, to be exact.

Cooperation Among Cooperatives

The trip was generously hosted by Equal Exchange, our friends and long-time partners both at CPW and Wedge Community Co-ops. Equal Exchange brings Fair Trade and Certified Organic bananas, coffee, avocados, chocolate, tea, nuts, and more to our co-ops and retail shelves across the country. Any time we get to work with other co-ops, and then travel together to visit a farmer cooperative, we experience in real life the one of our key principles and reasons for our work – Cooperation Among Cooperatives.

Rio y Valle

Joleen and Ryan reflected on their extraordinary time with Rio y Valle and Equal Exchange, and what they learned about banana farming and the families that steward this crop and this land. They visited in July, the dry season in Peru, yet it still felt tropical and warm. Banana groves are shady, quiet places, but the sunlight peeked through the canopy, showing how close the equator is to this region of the world. As banana plants grow on a 12-week cycle, the staggering of planting, nurturing, and harvesting is a process well-suited to this region of Peru.

Two workers processing banana bunches

What Fair Trade Means for Women

Equal Exchange works with farmers around the world to grow resilient crops, earn fair wages, and care for the land of future generations. Fair Trade is more than economic equity: it means that women not only work, but lead, own land, and provide for their families. It means the next generation can count on that continuity, and the generation after that. It means predictable income, ensuring everyone has an equitable opportunity to sell their crops. It means workplace safety is prioritized and continually monitored. It means care for the land, water, air, and other resources, ensuring that sustainability is at the core of the entire business operation. Every farm in this region is part of a large ecosystem, supporting each other in times of trial and times of abundance.

Learn more about this trip and banana farming at Rio y Valle here!