In a bid to support local coconut farmers and revitalise the industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries accepted over 5,000 Brazilian green dwarf coconut seed nuts from Brazilian-owned COHIBRA Farms on Tuesday.
Local coconut producers welcomed the new opportunity to expand and advance the local industry.
Farmers were also registered to receive germinated seed nuts in September through this project supported by the European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI), and COHIBRA Farms.
Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram said this represents another vital step in the ongoing efforts to invigorate the local coconut industry, a sector he said is not only economically promising but one that is culturally iconic.
“So looking ahead, we continue to improve access to high-quality planting material, empower small and medium-scale farmers through training and technical support, foster innovation and research in agricultural development, and deepen public-private partnerships through the coconut value chain.”
COHIBRA’s Chief Executive Officer Lailton Barreto said the Brazilian green dwarf doconut can yield up to six hundred millilitres of water per fruit under the right conditions.
He added that the work done with the genetics is already showing promising results.
“And it produces an average of three to three hundred fruits per year per plant so and it get, we have clients back in Brazil that produce 600 fruits per plant per year off the green dwarf variety one, so with the right management of the plant, you can, you can present, you can have some very good surprises.”