With the Carambola Fruit Fly (CFF) prevalent in the hinterland, the head of NAREI has emphasized the importance of its control and eradication to limit the serious threat to farmers.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, Dr Oudho Homenauth told a CFF workshop last week that the pest has caused severe economic hardship for farmers.
According to a release from NAREI, the pest, which was first observed in Region Six in 1993, bringing authorities to believe it had entered from Suri-name, has since spread to other parts of the country, and has a particularly high population in regions six, eight and nine. A recent survey by Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) revealed that the pest is now rooted in the aforementioned regions, and as a result of these findings, NAREI organised a CFF- focused workshop.
