Many smallholder banana farmers in Ecuador are turning to a government agency to ship their fruit, under a scheme that promises fair prices and training programs.

In a release, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fishing (MAGAP) said the Unidad Nacional de Almacenamiento (National Storage Unit) had seen an uptick in participants and volume this year.

Small Growers Association of Nueva Vida president Leticia Calle Calle and Machala-baseed Pajonal Banana Cooperative manager Manuel Sánchez said they had received "fair prices and punctual payments" under the scheme.

"We started to sell our first boxes to the public company Unidad Nacional de Almacenamiento (UNA EP) because we believe in them. In 2014 we sold some 200 boxes per week; now we sell 22,000 boxes per week," Sánchez said.

He said he embarked on the project with just eight growers, but now the number has grown to 35.

Technicians from MAGAP's banana strategy team in El Oro provide training for small-to-medium sized growers with up to 30 hectares of land, helping them learn the fine details of trade.

"In 2014 we started exports in week 12 with 2,000 boxes; now we export 70,000 boxes weekly overseas," said the UNA EP's Musaceae Business Unit.

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