Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar during a recent call to WE FM’s Issue At Hand program discussed the impact of citrus greening on fruits here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Minister Caesar noted that this disease has affected not just St. Vincent and the Grenadines but countries all over the globe.
“In St. Vincent and the Grenadines and in many of the other windward islands, in fact it is a global issue, it’s called citrus greening and if you follow the history, millions and millions worth of farm and planting material were destroyed in Florida, we know that Florida has a significant citrus industry,” he said.
He said citrus greening had impacted what the country allows to be imported.
You know, persons sometimes are very unhappy when we do not allow them to bring things into the country but we were impacted and are still impacted by citrus greening,” Minister Caesar said.
He continued “For persons who are listening, you would realize that your orange tree in the yard just staying so and dried up, the same thing with the limes,” he said.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, once a tree is infected with citrus greening there is no cure. The department states that while the disease poses no threat to humans or animals, it has devastated millions of acres of citrus crops throughout the United States and abroad. Citrus greening is spread by a disease-infected insect.
