CIB Invites Jamaicans to Coconut Plant Sale December 6

The Coconut Industry Board (CIB) is inviting the general public to its plant sale on Friday, December 6.

General Manager, Shaun Cameron, told JIS News that the sale aims to attract small and casual farmers who are interested in getting coconut plants at reduced prices.

“As you know, one of our responsibilities is to help grow the coconut sector, and although our focus is for our registered farmers, we’re trying to provide seedlings for the casual farmers and the backyard farmers, those who are interested in having two or five coconut trees on their properties. We decided it’s important just to move the remainder of our stock,” he said.

For the sale on December 6, the remaining stock will only be available at the CIB Head Office, 18 Waterloo Road, Kingston.

The Board is working to extend the sale to other parts of the island in the future.

“We want persons to come and support your backyard farming, come and purchase as much as you can. There is limited stock, so the early bird normally gets the worm. What we want to do in the future is to have one or two sale days a year to move stock and to get small farmers actively engaged in the coconut industry,” Mr. Cameron said.

He pointed out that most registered farmers in the country have reached their capacity for coconut plants, and to prevent waste, the Board has opened access to seedlings to the wider public.

“I was told that back in the day, Jamaicans had a tradition where when you get your first born or when you get your child, you’d plant the coconut tree in honour of that child. We want to align yourself with all these traditions also, and just get our population planting coconut trees,” Mr. Cameron said.

Persons coming to the sale are being asked to have the necessary transportation and proper containers for the plants.

“We ask that persons have a vehicle that is spacious enough to accommodate the tree, also make sure that you have a box or some form of plastic container, because the root structure normally would have small ants and various debris. So we recommend that you have something that will protect the inside of your vehicle when you are carrying the tree,” Mr. Cameron said.

With proper fertilisation management and good soil conditions, a coconut tree can start to fruit between three and five years.

Mr. Cameron said it is up to the individuals who are taking the trees to make sure that where they are planting the coconut trees has good water support.

“Coconut trees normally do well in a sandy loam or soil that does not retain water, but water goes through fairly efficiently. You don’t want soil that retains water and logs the water because that would destroy the coconut fruit. So just keep that concept in mind that wherever you’re planting should have good soil drainage, water drainage and offer the best nutrients for the tree to grow into a productive tree,” he said.