Coconut project zones in on value-added products, diversity

Jamaica and Guyana are already benefiting from a US$40-million training and aftercare support programme under the Alliances for Action Coconut Project that’s meant to wring more value from a crop that has long suffered from the lethal yellowing disease, ageing plantations, and financial and technological constraints.

The project, which is focused on product innovation and diversity, also aims to improve the shelf life of natural coconut water, which is a top foreign exchange earner in the sector.

In Jamaica, the number of infected trees has slowed year over, said plant pathologist at the Coconut Industry Board, Dr Wayne Myrie, through the use of a mixture containing Epsom salt, vinegar and liquid soap. But a more targeted solution is needed if the Coconut Board wants to achieve its target of planting 146,000 acres of quality coconuts by 2030.

At the top of the agenda for the programme partners – International Trade Centre, ITC, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute – is a plan to form an alliance with Mexican firm Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, to battle the lethal yellowing disease in the six coconut-producing Cariforum countries that fall under the project.

“Coconuts take a long time to develop, and to test for resistance to the lethal yellow disease, you have to wait until the tree is mature and producing. In phase two, we hope to do that at the early stage. The Mexicans have mastered the technique of growing coconut in the lab, so at this point, we are trying to get an alliance formalised to move ahead,” Coordinator of the ITC Value Addition Service Centre, Dr Clifton Riley, told the Financial Gleaner.

Under phase two of the project, the six Cariforum countries – Jamaica, Guyana, St Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic – will receive funding to assist the sector with product and process improvements. Additionally, farmers are to be supplied with quality planting material and trained in nursery management, pest control and managing finances.

EXPLORING WAYS

Jamaica itself has so far got US$100,000 in funding under stage two of the programme, US$48,500 of which has gone to the Coconut Board to assist farmers with planting of the crop.

The focus for phase two has largely been on product innovation. The partners are exploring ways to drive product diversity in the Caribbean for coconut value-added products, and will also look at addressing issues around bottled coconut water products, one of the more lucrative foreign currency earner for the industry.

“The shelf life on coconut water is not very long, so we are looking at how we can improve that without changing the taste profile. We are also focused on coconut value-added products outside of the food industry, like products for the cosmetics market,” Riley said.

The regional standards for packaged natural coconut water are being revised, and discussions are also being held around improving the production of coconut oil, coconut drops and coconut powder. The hope is to reduce importation, and gin up the export of the products primarily to markets where demand is strong, such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

“When we think about the coconut milk powder that we use, the inputs are imported and they are repackaged in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. There is a big push for innovation and value addition at origin, we want to see where those inputs can be developed within the Caribbean,” Riley said.

Jamaica and Guyana are the two largest producers of coconuts within the region. But over the years, the number of nuts being harvested has slowly declined due to pests, diseases and weather conditions. Limited funding, theft and technological constraints have compounded the problems for many farmers, many of whom have moved into producing other agricultural products.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has also negatively impacted the industry.

Of the 24 processors registered by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica as at January 2019, only nine benefited from the last training programme conducted in December.

“The Jamaican processors in the project are heavily involved and invested. We want to build the capabilities of the SMEs; so even when this project ends, the technical resources and capabilities will be in place to support the farmers beyond the project,” Riley said.

TRANSFORMING

The Scientific Research Council and the Coconut Board will both work with local farmers and processors on the development of capacity, and will also be a part of a regional network of technical institutions for coconut farmers across the Caribbean.

Phase two of the project is being financed by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund, with oversight by the Cariforum Directorate. This phase of the project ends in 2023.

Jamaica is in the process of transforming the operations of the state-funded Coconut Board into a commercially focused operation. The commodity board’s to-do list for 2021 and 2022 includes the planting of 3,800 acres of commercial orchards and 4,000 acres of seedbed nurseries to supply one million seedlings per year; managing the lethal yellowing disease; and distributing 100,000 coconuts seedlings to coconut farmers.

The board’s wider commercial plan, which needs the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, spells out $3 billion of investments in various areas, including a coconut water-bottling plant and a factory for production of coconut oil.

karena.bennett@gleanerjm.com