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Black Sigatoka found in St Lucia |
9th February 2010, Reefertrends and Banana Link
Agriculture officials have confirmed that the banana industry has lost the battle to prevent the arrival and spread of the fungal disease.
Agriculture Minister Ezekiel Joseph said the disease was discovered on
a banana plantation in the south-east of the island and that government
officials will be verifying the extent of the infestation across the
island. “We are now embarking on a comprehensive survey islandwide to
determine the extent of the problem and from that we will know the
measures we need to undertake to either eradicate or control,” he said.
"This represents yet another threat to our embattled industry,”
remarked Renwick Rose of the WINFA Union. “It follows similar
infestation in St Vincent which has reduced production. Black Sigatoka
is expensive to control and with our industry having been placed in
dire straits by the so-called ‘banana deal’ our farmers are facing even
harder times. We will do our utmost to combat such threats and appeal
to all our friends for assistance."
Sources: Reefertrends.com, WINFA
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