The Division of Agriculture has welcomed to Dominica a team of technicians from French company ‘Banane De Guadeloupe Martinique’ to apprise the Division on management methods to combat the deadly Black Sigatoka fungus which affecting the country’s banana crops.
Member of the Banana Growers Association in Guadeloupe, Sebastien Zanoletti, stated that the visit to Dominica is one of great use.
“We are here to continue the cooperation between the French islands and Dominica and also St. Lucia and St. Vincent. We also want to continue because it is very useful,” Zanoletti said.
According to him, the objective of cooperation is to control the Black Sigatoka – which is the most popular disease in bananas- and also to reduce the use of pesticides.
“In ten years in Guadeloupe and Martinique, we have succeeded to reduced by sixty percent of the use of pesticides. We want to continue this work, we work on new varieties tolerant to Black Sigatoka,” he remarked.
The French team hopes to propose to Dominica a series of trials in attempts to fight the disease which will result in bananas being sold and exported on the local, regional and international levels.
Keeping in line with the exportation of agricultural produce, Minister for Trade, Ian Douglas, has solicited farmers to produce foods at levels fitting for export markets.
Speaking recently, Douglas said that there is a high demand for fresh produce from Dominica to the United States, United Kingdom, and also the French islands.
“If you are a farmer, plant what is needed. We have the facilities right now that are calling for everything. They want plantain, they want ginger, they want turmeric, they want yams, and they want dasheens. We have a contract for two twenty foot containers every month, one every fortnight, one to the United States of America and one to England, and we want to fill those containers,” Douglas remarked.
He told the audience gathered to understand that “every single hardworking venture you set yourselves to in Dominica, you can do well.”
Black Sigatoka was first detected in Dominica in July, 2012.
These are not French technicians, they are Guadeloupe technicians and they have brought black Sigatoka under control. There is no intention to get black Sigatoka under control in Dominica but to have some people make Money.
More humor… the french is called to help with what? You got free assistance from home you said no, now the disease finish with our bananas and plantain you calling the underdog in the business to assit? Killer there is no mor bananas they done, distroyed, left to morn, FINISHED its too late you were never concerned dont try to fool us now
LOL
papa bondieu we used to sell to the french, they did produce like us. now they have to fix us when dr. clayton could have done that years ago
The EU just spent a small fortune on exactly the same thing. Now more money is being wasted propping up this sector. It’s time to be big enough to admit that mass production of bananas is no longer a sensible and viable agricultural strategy and that it is time to diversify to cocoa, coffee and other produce. And while we are at it, why not legalise the production of marijuana for medicinal purposes/export. Legal marijuana is an inevitability so why not be the first instead of the last as usual ?