Stop this importation from Mexico right away

Mar 26, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
This letter is about a looming crisis in the coconut industry, which is our third largest agricultural crop after rice and sugar. One of our largest coconut farmers has imported a container load of 10-20,000 seed nuts from Mexico to plant in the Pomeroon. This single action can and most likely will cause the death of the coconut industry in Guyana since there will be the disease LETHAL YELLOWING in about 1% of these nuts. For those who never heard of the disease, I invite you to read about it on the Internet. It spreads rapidly and has destroyed entire plantations in Northern Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, but it is not in Guyana, at least not yet.
Mr. Editor, my question is why was permission given by NAREI to import these nuts from a country with the disease? The Ministry of Agriculture needs to launch an urgent investigation and swift action must be taken to destroy this planting material on arrival in Port Georgetown. If this is not done, then it will be another example of big money talking and all the small farmers who depend on coconut sales for a living will be on the bread line.
Coconut farmers need your urgent help Mr. Minister, since the shipment arrives in a few days. Maybe His Excellency the President or the Minister of State can help the farmers by directing that urgent action be taken.
P. Hamilton
West Coast Berbice

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