THE Coconut Industry Board (CIB) yesterday announced a new programme to plant about 40,000 coconut seedlings yearly in non-traditional coconut growing areas in the island as well as an increase in the incentives currently given to coconut farmers, in a bid to ensure the survival of the local industry.

“These (non-traditional coconut growing) areas, which are located mainly in the western part of the island, are either free or relatively free from lethal yellowing disease,” chairman of the CIB, Dr Richard Jones, said at the Board’s annual general meeting yesterday. “This decision is a strategic one aimed at ensuring, as far as is possible, that if all coconuts in the traditional coconut growing areas die, there will be enough coconut trees in the non-traditional areas to ensure the survival of the industry.”

The programme, he said, was scheduled to start at the beginning of June. Participants of the programme, Jones said, were also eligible for some of the increased benefits that the CIB would be offering to its members.

“We have also decided to increase the fertiliser grant to cover 80 per cent of the seedlings planted. This means that registered coconut growers will now get coconut seedlings, free of cost, fertiliser for 80 per cent of the seedlings planted free of cost and a cash grant for weed control,” Jones told CIB members.

This is an increase from the 60 per cent which the Coconut Board used to give for the seedlings planted. The cash grant for weed control and the other increased benefits, Jones said, would take immediate effect.

“We hope that the increased benefits will help us to achieve our target of planting 60,000 coconut seedlings per year under this programme,” Jones said.

According to him, both programmes, which aim planting 100,000 seedlings for the year, would cost the CIB an estimated $119.3 million. He expressed the hope that coconut farmers would be more receptive to these incentives as previous efforts had proved disappointing.

“…the response to the planting programme introduced by the board in 1999 continued to be very disappointing. Many growers are still reluctant to plant the Malayan dwarf and the Maypan Hybrid due to fears that they will die from the lethal yellowing disease,” he said.

The Board, he said, was continuing its efforts to find ways to deal with the disease including experimenting with plants from abroad to see if a kind of coconut could be found which was resistant to lethal yellowing. About 500,000 bearing coconut trees have died from lethal yellowing and other coconut diseases since the early 1990s.

Lethal yellowing is a fatal disease of coconut and other palms that has killed millions of plants in the Caribbean over the past 40 years.

The disease is caused by small bacteria-like organisms called phytoplasma and is spread by small plant-sucking insects known as plant-hoppers.

While discussing other matters, Jones encouraged the coconut farmers to continue cutting down on the production of copra — the dried kernel of coconuts which is used in the manufacture of soap.

Copra production, Jones said was the lowest ever last year with a total of 61 metric tonnes produced. This, he said, was a decrease of 341 metric tonnes when compared with the 402 metric tonnes produced in 2000.

“Whatever the reason for the decline, this is a move in the right direction and I urge you to continue to do so. I urge you in your best interest to continue seeking other uses for your coconuts, always remembering that effective October 1, 2003, Seprod Limited will discontinue purchasing copra from the Board,” Jones said.

The production of Copra, the Board said, was no longer viable. As at December last year there was a total population of 3,833,491 coconut trees in the island.