Research, infrastructure key to revitalising coconut industry

Associate Minister for Agriculture, The Honourable Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell,Samoa; Mr Michael Hailu, Director, CTA; Dr Arlington Chesney, Executive Director CARDI; and Honourable Minister of Agriculture Sione Sangster Saulala, Tonga (CTA photo)

As the Caribbean takes steps to revive its potentially profitable coconut industry, stakeholders are urged to make the industry a robust one, which experts say will depend on knowledge sharing, replanting of old plantations and improved varieties.

Dr Arlington Chesney, Executive Director, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) told stakeholders that regional coconut production had slumped over the years because scientists back then blamed coconut oil for some health problems. Since then,