Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer
SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:
THERE IS concern among agricultural interests that the failure of numerous citrus farmers to conduct replanting exercises has contributed to the difficulty for the sector to rebound from the tristeza virus.
Since 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has been making re-planting loans available through the citrus replanting programme, but up to Tuesday, only 42 farmers had accessed loans. Of this number, 36 are medium to large-scale farmers, while the other 6 are small-scale farmers.
According to Neville Lindo, director of projects at the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) the agency through which the loans are being disbursed many small farmers were unwilling to offer their collateral as securities for the loans.
Mr. Lindo said that to date, of the $110 million that have been approved in loans, $70 million have been disbursed to fund the replanting of some 422 hectares of citrus.
He was speaking following a tour of three St. Catherine citrus farms on Wednesday.
The tristeza virus was identified among local crops in 1993 and has since destroyed several farms islandwide. A 1999 survey had showed that the virus was most prevalent in the parishes of St. Mary, St. James, Hanover and Manchester with St. Catherine being the most severely affected.
In the meantime, Peter McConnell, chairman of the Jamaica Citrus Protection Agency, said a rebound of the citrus industry was achievable.
"We have the expertise, we have the technology and we now have the assistance of loans," he said.
