Cacao growers lose Rp 90 billion to pests

Cacao growers lose Rp 90 billion to pests

PALU, Central Sulawesi (Antara): Cacao growers in Indonesia's
Central Sulawesi province suffered more than Rp 90 billion (about
US$8.5 million) in losses during the 2000-2001 fiscal year as a
result of the comoporpha cramerella pest.

The head of the local plantations office, Nursidah Bantilan,
said on Thursday the province's cacao output fell by between 30
percent and 40 percent due to attacks by the pest.

He said the pests affected about 11,000 hectares of cacao
plantations in the province's seven districts over the past two
months, compared to about 9,000 hectares last January.

Worst hit was Donggala district, where the pests affected
about 6,000 hectares of cacao plantations, he said.

To get the pests under control, the provincial plantations
office is cooperating with the Coffee and Cacao Research Center
in Jember district, East Java province, and ACRI, a U.S.-based
cacao research center, he said.

Comoporpha cramerella was first detected in Ogogil village,
Tolitoli district, in 1982, where it affected about 14 hectares
of cacao plantations.

According to data from the plantations office, the province
has 60,000 hectares of cacao plantations which yield an average
of 70,000 tons of cacao per year.

Nursidah said cacao production could be increased to between
1.5 tons and two tons per hectare if local cacao growers used
appropriate pest control technology.

The province made US$68.112 million last year from cacao
exports.