The shoulders and the task: Revitalizing the coconut industry in the Caribbean (Pt 1)

Raymond Trotz

By R F Trotz

NSP Chairman, Guyana

 

At the end of the last installment (SN August 05, 2016) I stated that the task at hand was “transforming the production base from illustration A to B as the basis for developing value chains.”

 

The second picture illustrates space available for intercropping being utilized for coconut seedling production.

The production of seedlings is one critical factor for implementation of any revitalization process.

Its importance was highlighted last Thursday, August 11, at a small forum hosted by Moray House when a prominent cane farmer with 62 acres expressed an interest in investing in coconuts as a possible alternative to sugarcane. He lamented not being able to source enough seedlings from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (he got 20).