General Manager at the Banana Board Jamaica, Janet Ferguson-Conie, highlights characteristics of a local banana variety to (from left) Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Professor Tannecia Stephenson; Chairperson of the Musa Technical Working Group, Caribbean Plant Health (CPHD) Directors Forum, Nelson Laville; Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green and Phytopathologist at the Plant Health Institute of Montpellier, Dr. Yolande Chilin Charles. The occasion was the opening of the Regional Musaceae Priority Disease - Banana Diagnostic Workshop held on Monday (April 15) at the Life Sciences Department of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
For Immediate Release
April 16, 2024
All major banana and plantain related diseases (Black Sigatoka, Moko Disease and Tropical Race 4) are either maintained or excluded completely at the commercial level in the local banana and plantain industry.
The revelation was made by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, during his address at the opening ceremony for the Regional Musaceae Priority Disease - Banana Diagnostic Workshop held on Monday, April 15, at the Life Sciences Department of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
Minister Green has indicated that despite the positive news, the country continues to remain vigilant in monitoring diseases impacting the banana and plantain industry, such as the Tropical Race 4 (TR4) disease.
“We have had strong actions around communication, border security, farm biosecurity, diagnostic and surveillance and that is ongoing,” he said.
Minister Green adds that Jamaica is making every effort to keep the disease outside of Jamaica’s borders and commends the Banana Board Jamaica for leading the charge in this regard.
“Sometimes we spend a lot of resources on surveillance and diagnostics, but the biggest thing is to keep TR4 out of our islands and that means it has to start at the border and you have to have a robust communications campaign around it. As such, we have seen good results and we continue that work in that regard,” Green highlighted.
The agriculture minister also shared that Jamaica’s banana industry continues to be very vibrant and lucrative with the country noting steady growth in production and export, surpassing national targets.
“In 2023, we produced 71,000 tonnes of bananas and 46,000 tonnes of plantains which represents steady growth. We do have a baseline year which is 2019 and since that time we have grown 12.3 % in relation to bananas and 19.2% in relation to plantains,” he outlined.
“We started to see the uptick in the increase of exportation of bananas. We exported 800 tonnes of bananas which represents a consistent growth in the export but more importantly it is actually 47% above our annual targets. So, we are doing well despite the challenges and there is still more to do,” Green added.
The agriculture minister has charged researchers to develop local disease resistant strains of bananas and plantains.
The Musaceae Priority Disease - Banana Diagnostic Workshop takes place from April 15 -19, 2024. This includes International Banana Day, April 17, 2024. It will encompass an in-depth exploration of various aspects of the four (4) diseases mentioned previously, including their biology, symptoms, transmission mechanisms, and overall impact on agricultural systems. The program will also include modules on surveillance techniques, diagnostic procedures, management practices, and strategic approaches to protect production ecosystems.
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