The Banana Asia-Pacific Network (ASPNET) was established in 1991 to foster collaborative research on bananas and renamed BAPNET (Banana Asia Pacific network) in 2002. The network includes 13 country members and 2 research institutes.
BAPNET operates under the auspices of APAARI (Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes) and is guided by a Steering Committee, which is made up of representatives of all the national programmes and institutions that participate in the network.

This committee meets annually to review progress in addressing the regional research agenda and to discuss future priorities and strategies for the network. Bioversity International’s regional office in the Philippines provides the secretariat and coordination for the network.

Activities
• Mitigating the threat of banana Fusarium wilt: Understanding the agro-ecological distribution of pathogenic forms and developing disease management strategies

• Introduction, evaluation and adoption of improved and superior local cultivars of banana for food and income generation

• National Repository, Multiplication and Distribution Centers

• Crop diversification project