Experts to map out strategy this week
By LYNNISSHA RUNA
Combating the deadly coconut rhinoceros beetle will be the focus of a major workshop to be held in Honiara this week.
Biosecurity Solomon Islands and the Coconut RhiBy os Beetle (CRB) taskforce are organising the one-day gathering in Honiara on Thursday.
“The coconut industry is worth $150 million to the Solomon Islands economy,” says Bob Macfarlane, coordinator of the CRB taskforce.
“This represents a significant percentage of our foreign exchange earnings, most of which gets direct to the village-level,” he added.
“Coconuts also play a crucial role in village nutrition being consumed at a rate of one nut per person per day (equating to 600,000 nuts per day) and of course the palm also has thousands of other uses.
“Biosecurity Solomon Islands has developed an operational plan to respond to the threat represented by the rhinoceros beetle.
“This week’s meeting is part of that plan.”
In the Pacific, Macfarlane said the coconut rhinoceros beetle has ravaged the economies of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji in the early 1900s, killing 50% of the palms and severely damaging the remaining palms.
“In the past leaving palms to rot was the normal Solomon Islands system but now these rotting palms provide a ‘dream home’ for the beetle that could decimate our industry.
“We would like to bring experts and professionals together from the communications field, scientists, agriculturalists, extension experts, farmers and lobbyists.
“The sheer scale of the problem means we will need all the brains in the room to come up with a sustainable solution to ‘change the habits of a lifetime’ particularly in villages.
“At the workshop we want to put together a strategy and implementation plan to reduce the population of the CRB to manageable numbers by changing the way coconut plantations are managed in Solomon Islands.
“This plan will include an essential component on communicating behaviour change especially in villages, urban centres, and by policy makers.
“Dealing with this issue is a priority for Solomon Islands government and a lot of donors.
“Working together will allow us to deliver the plan and attract an appropriate level of funding.”
Rhinoceros Beetle is known to be present in Honiara and surrounds.
It has since spread eastwards towards the oil palm estates of the Guadalcanal plains.
It has also recently been reported from the Shortland Islands on the border with Papua New Guinea.
In Malaita, one of the highest coconut producing provinces, the beetle has been sighted in parts of the province’s north.
According to Macfarlane, they’ve secured funding from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which will be used in the planning and conduct of an awareness campaign this deadly pest.
He said the campaign will specifically draft action messages to encourage people to destroy beetles and their breeding sites and stop its spread to other provinces and areas in Solomon Islands.
