The government has approved a $49 million package to help fight the Red Palm Mite infestation affecting the coconut industry but one exporter says efforts to combat the pest will not be successful unless all farmers simultaneously treat affected plants.
At a post-Cabinet press briefing last Thursday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced the package to fight the pest and he explained that the money will be used to purchase chemicals, equipment, and safety gear which would be provided to farmers at a subsidised cost to combat this infestation.
On Monday, Director of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr. Oudho Homenauth told Stabroek News that of the approved funding, $4M will be allocated for items such as mist blowers and safety gear, while $45M will be used to buy Inosan and Abemictin.
Inosan, a Monocrotophos-based pesticide, is used on the older, larger trees after the nuts are harvested, while the slower acting and more environmentally-friendly Abemictin is used on younger trees, especially those to be harvested for water coconuts.
The mist blowers, Homenauth said, are to be used for younger trees and other vegetation such as host plants,
