Bananas
Tropical fruit tree seedlings in high demand as climate changes
Warmer weather means people can now grow fruits like pawpaw and bananas as far south as Invercargill. Audio
Backyard bananas in the Buller
A botanist on the West Coast wants locals to start planting growing edible perennials that are growing in his nursery and food forest. Audio
Choice Cherimoyas
Best of 2022 - Rich and Jose van Alphen say people either love or hate cherimoyas. They've been growing them organically in the Far North for more than 30 years. Audio
Tropical fruit in NZ goes bananas
Hugh Rose is the Chair of Tropical Fruit Growers and has an impressive stable of interesting sounding fruits growing on his Northland property. He talks Anna through them. Audio
Going bananas about growing bananas
Scores of hectares of bananas are grown here, mainly in Northland. Whangerai farmer Hugh Rose has a banana plant nursery, where he also grows paw paw and sugar cane. When Hugh's not growing tropical… Audio
A Sweet Opportunity - Growing Sugar Cane in Northland
New Zealand could be producing its own sugar, according to the chair of New Zealand's Tropical Fruit Growers' Association. Hugh Rose has been growing trial plantings of sugarcane on his property near… Audio
Growing new kinds of kai in Kaipara
Kūmara is currently the biggest crop in Northland's Kaipara district, but one day peanuts could be added to the mix. Kaipara Kai has been established to promote opportunities for landowners to plant… Audio
Banana shortage after shipping slip-up
Bananas are in short supply throughout the country due to a shipping route change and it may be weeks before supply levels are back to normal.
Samoa banana exports to NZ a 'huge deal' for country
Samoa's agriculture minister says entry to the New Zealand market is a "huge deal" for Samoan banana farmers. Audio
'Frugal hedonism' in a Far North food forest
When you visit Klaus Lotz on his small plot of community-owned land in the Far North settlement of Matapouri you'll first be offered a cup of coffee. That might seem like commonplace Kiwi hospitality… Audio
Expert: Matt Weinert is bananas about bananas!
Matt Weinert is the Industry Development Officer for Bananas with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. He's otherwise known as the Banana Guru. Audio, Gallery
Australian Open players go bananas
Our tennis correspondent Dave Luddy with the latest from the Australian Open. Audio
Forget Me Not
The Coronation Garden in Little River is a living memorial for local men who died in WWI and WWII. Designed by local nurseryman Bruce King, the garden is packed with perennials, rhododendrons, flaxes… Audio, Gallery
Banana drama reports obscure real food facts
Alarming headlines about banana prices’ upward curve obscured a downward drift in dairy and chicken that's cheap as chips Audio
Food costs up as price of bananas hits record high
The record high price of bananas pushed food prices up 1.3 percent in August.
Where do NZ's bananas come from?
An RNZ investigation into the conditions faced by the Philippine workers who pick bananas for New Zealand has uncovered an ugly picture of exploitation, violence and underpayment - with workers paid… Video, Audio
Banana Republic: the ugly story behind New Zealand’s most popular fruit
From the top of a rusting observation tower, the leaves stretch out in every direction: thick, glossy, utterly uniform, as far as the eye can see. Video, Audio
Lorna Piatti-Farnell - The History of the Banana
Pop cultural researcher, Lorna Piatti-Farnell, joins Wallace to talk bananas. In her new book, Banana - A Global History, Lorna has unearthed a fascinating history of the fruit - she explains where… Audio
Simon Coley: fair trade and farmers
Simon Coley of All Good Organics on how sourcing cola from Sierra Leone helped them win world's Fairest Fair Trader. Audio
Harriet Lamb: banana wars and fairtrade
Chief Executive Officer of the Fairtrade Foundation since 2001, and author of Fighting the Banana Wars and other Fairtrade Battles. Audio