Coconut industry revitalisation underway

Unfortunately for Trinidad and Tobago, because of the abandonment of coconut plantations due to negative campaigns about coconut, favouring soya, and a drop in the demand for copra to make oils, Albada Beekham, Acting Director Agricultural Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries said, “we cannot even meet our demand for coconut water.” Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries at the opening of a three-day regional workshop on Coconut Product Development and Processing on Wednesday in Port-of-Spain, Beekham said that apart from the neglect of the industry, surviving coconuts were subjected to red ring disease, red palm mite and bud rot disease. “These conditions led to the low productivity we are experiencing today,” she said.

In revitalising the industry, she said the ministry has embarked on a 2016 to 2020 strategic plan that will focus on coconuts as one of the country’s major commodities, while continuing with the programme already begun to develop the coconut industry.

The rehabilitation of the industry began in 2013 with meetings of stakeholders. Training in field management, pest and disease control, and seedling production was done with EDF funding and technical assistance provided by CARDI, she said, but due to the country’s economic situation, the ministry was forced to scale down the project on a phased basis. CARDI has also assisted in the development of nurseries.

Focus is currently on the east coast of Trinidad where coconuts are being grown. At present, she said, farmers were introducing new planting material to either replace aged plants, or inter planting. While emphasis will be placed on the continuation of last year’s work, the characterisation and collection of varieties, Beekham said, “we will be assessing the local varieties to determine the types most suited for water and other coconut products to guide production.” As part of the ministry’s 2016 to 2020 strategic plan, she said, the ministry was looking to improve on tissue culture techniques, and guidelines for the movement of germ plasm as farmers want to import other varieties. In the interim, the ministry, she said, was encouraging farmers to multiply their best varieties and distribute them until strategies could be mapped out to import other varieties. The EDF is providing a US$35,000 grant for the development of local nurseries, and will provide a further US$35,000 for integrated pest management.