Economic stagnation, poverty and armed conflict are locked in a vicious cycle with tremendous impacts on lives and livelihood. One attempt to break the cycle were the pioneering investments in banana plantations in former conflict areas that initially solved multidimensional problems involving property protection, harmonization of local cultural norms with international business practices, and complementary investments. However, this model has recently been beset by external and internal challenges that threaten business viability—and also the peace it provides. This forum aims to extract the issues surrounding this development paradigm, and aims to highlight the pitfalls and the promise of such a model.
