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.