Dominica is preparing for the impact of Black Sigatoka on the island’s main crop.
Black Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease of banana plants caused by ascomycete fungus and plants with leaves damaged by the disease may have up to 50% lower yield of fruit.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Samuel Carette told a stakeholders meeting last week, that the disease possesses a serious threat to the Dominican livelihood.
“It poses a very serious threat to our livelihood at the individual level, at the farm household level, community and national level. Many of our farmers depend on plantain and bananas for their living and banana is playing a lesser role in our economy and it is still very important to the livelihood in rural communities,” Carette explained.
“Plantain has become very important and significant and it has helped us to gain some very important foreign exchange which we need at this time,” he added.
He said if Black Sigatoka comes to Dominica, “we are in very serious problems”.
– DNO Correspondent
Look out for another bin bobol and fertilizer bobol in the making. Dominica buying 40, 000 banana plants from France? Do they grow bananas in France? Are their plants immuned from Black Sigatoka? I smell a hugh rat here. They forget the the EURO is the most expensive currency man?
Last week they had their boys to tell farmers to go back to their farms because they have the Black Sigatoker under control and will be spraying every 28 days, and now they going to import 40, 000 banana blants? Boy they fooled me once and that was their bad. They fooled me twice and that was my bad; but to fool me a 5th time, I have to be a damn FOOL!
“Black Sigatoka described as serious threat to livelihood
Dominica News Online – Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 5:15 PM”
These fellers are making people laugh. April 2010, was the first time I heard of this Black Sigatoka and the threat it posed to Dominica. These jokers did nothing to combat it. In fact based on their actions prior to the above threat, it was clear to me that the DLP was doing everything to kill agriculture and bananas in particular, to satisfy their communist political agenda and stay in power. They did nothing to protect our livelihood and now 5 yrs later, for the first time we hearing the new minister talking crap. Why France and not islands like Guada, Martinique, St Lucia, St. Vincent, Jamaica or South America etc? What so special about France? This thing has me thinking of the BIN BOBOL all over again, to pay election bills. I guess they feel if they have to get plants from any of the above islands, it might lick out; whereas going to France will keep the…
nice post. thanks.
THAT MAKE SENSE TO ME.
I’m calling on the powers that be to do all they can to keep that Black Sigatoka out of DA please