Black Sigatoka halts plantain exports

A plantain tree at Salem, East Bank Essequibo which is affected by the Black Sigatoka Disease.

 

Although plantain and banana farms across Guyana have been perishing under the onslaught of the Black Sigatoka Disease, resulting in a complete halt in the export of plantains, farmers are now becoming hopeful again as the disease can be controlled with very little or no effect on the quality of production.

However, some farmers believe that the cost of control is too inflated, and many have refused to follow the guidance being offered by the National Agricultural Research Extension Institute (NAREI), resulting in poor production in some areas. Nevertheless, those farmer who