Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
THE COCONUT Industry Board says it will continue expanding its role as a producer if the industry continues failing to satisfy even local demand. The board has already begun farming a property which it bought in St. Mary.
Speaking Saturday at the board's annual meeting held at the Coke Methodist Hall, downtown Kingston, Chairman Dr. Richard Jones said 2005's production was down by two million nuts and, this year, orders for 350,000 nuts remain unsatisfied.
Dr. Jones said all this came despite increasing demand and the board raising its prices.
Of 100,000 seedlings offered free by the board each year, he said just half were being replanted by growers.
A REALISTIC VIEW
"Up to two years ago, the board maintained a policy that we should not compete with coconut growers and that our role should be restricted to that of a facilitator," he said. "In recent years, we have had to take a realistic view of this policy due to a lack of response from coconut growers to our planting programmes."
Dr. Jones acknowledged, however, that theft and crop disease were still hampering farmers.
He encouraged them to take advantage of the new receipt book system, designed to weed out persons selling stolen coconuts. He suggested that farmers do more intercropping to gain alternative income, an enterprise that would receive assistance from the board with free seedlings, free fertiliser and a weed control grant.
