Deal with the coconut beetle now

COPRA is a lifeline for thousands of small farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG), providing vital income for some 20 per cent of the country’s population.
And so the alert raised over the coconut oil beetle – which is also threatening our palm oil plantations – should not be taken lightly.
The coconut beetle that is posed to be a threat to the oil palm industry must be contained before it causes more damages.
The coconut beetle (guam bio-type beetle) has already affected part of Central.
The beetle is a major pest of coconut palm, oil palm and other palm species.
Palms are damaged when adult beetles bore into the crowns of palms to feed on sap. Tree mortality occurs when beetles destroy the growing tip.
PNG is listed as among the top 10 coconut-producing countries in the world, along with Indonesia, Philippines, India, Brazil, Sir Lanka, Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia.
In 2015, the coconut industry ranked fourth in terms of revenue generated by major agricultural crops after palm oil, coffee and cocoa by contributing about 57 per cent (K101 million), while oil palm contributed 13 per cent (K1.086 billion), coffee contributed 24 per cent (K450.3 million) and cocoa
contributed 13 per cent (K243 million).
In terms of world coconut product trade, PNG’s production and exports remain at an average of about 1.1 per cent of the world market share.
The industry contributed to the PNG national economy through provision of employment and income for rural households and the generation of income from the export of copra, coconut oil (CNO) and virgin coconut oil (VCO). It said that on average, the industry contributed over K126.5 million per year to the PNG economy through the export revenue it generated.
The Kokonas Indastri Koporesen estimates that over 70 per cent of this is usually transmitted directly to smallholder copra producers.
PNG possibly may have an oversupply of coconut trees and coconuts in general, but we can lose them all to this beetle if the support is not given to contain it.
The Department of Agriculture and Livestock and the New Britain Palm Oil Limited will be putting through a submission to Cabinet to fight the pest. That project is expected to cost about K4.8 million which would focus on research on a pest that is threatening both the coconut and oil palm industries.
In 2007, a new biotype of coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros was first found in Guam and it turned out to be an imminent threat to Pacific livelihoods and economies reliant on coconuts; oil palm and other palm species, has been identified.
This biotype known as CRB Guam (CRB-G) is highly invasive with the ability to cause significant damage and to rapidly adapt to its environment.
If this coconut beetle is not suppressed, it is possible for a positive feedback cycle to initiate, whereby adult beetles kill massive numbers of palms, thereby generating more food for even more grubs, which turn into adults that kill even more palms.
Addressing the spread and threat of the beetle requires a concerted effort across with adequately resourced collaboration.
While management initiatives to suppress CRB populations in infested sites include: Crop sanitation, pheromone trapping, biological control agents, cover-cropping, insecticide application and physical killing of beetles, the Government must take the NBPOL offer and use their technical expertise, scientist and research facilities.
The Government must assist to establish the status of CRB-G and potential outbreak; partners and stakeholders establish a plan of response/action; funding is mobilised to strengthen advocacy, awareness and outreach, monitoring and surveillance, and border control.