Overseas assistance to help grow coconut industry

Feb 02, 2017 News

Guyana’s coconut industry is expected to expand significantly this year. The Ministry

A coconut tree before harvesting.

of Agriculture is currently engaged with its counterparts in Mexico and Brazil to acquire planting materials to sustain the growth in the local industry.
Coconut and coconut-based food and by-products gained prominence in Guyana during last year.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, Dr. Oudho Homenauth, said.
As a matter of fact, coconut is a major non-traditional export crop which brought in approximately US$5M in revenues over the past five years.
Dr. Homenauth said one way to grow the industry is through the acquisition of coconut planting materials in tissue form. He said the tissues will go through a series of laboratory tests before they are transferred to the nursery for actual planting, growth and monitoring.
Nurseries at Mon Repos, Wakenaam and Charity will be operationalised to accommodate more than 10,000 units of coconut planting material. This will complement ongoing works at the Hope Estate, East Coast Demerara.
Dr. Homenauth explained that poor selection of coconut types and species negatively impacts the large scale production of coconut. “People have been in the habit of selecting any and every nut for planting purposes and when they realise these things are ready to bear, we see the nuts are not of the quality they would have expected,” the CEO explained.

Coconut milk and oil are extracted from this coconut in its ‘dried’ stage.

Coconut is one of the crops that has gained the attention of NAREI since there is capacity for farmers to easily access the crop. Coastal farmlands are available to accommodate its growth.
“I know that some people fear that, you know when you do these things the chances are we can bring in pests and diseases into the country. We want to make it absolutely clear; that is something that would not be allowed because the material that is coming in will be quarantined by us initially before it is released,” Dr. Homenauth pointed out.
The expansion of the coconut industry has a 10-year road map which was developed and approved in 2016. The road map reinforces the government’s efforts to resuscitate and sustain the local coconut industry. With the road map as a guide, the industry is also expected to move from being underdeveloped to a fully integrated partner at national, regional and global levels.

Pic filed as coconut1

Pic filed as coconut2
Coconut milk and oil are extracted from this coconut in its ‘dried’ stage.