WORSE THAN CADANG-CADANG
A coconut pest worse than the deadly Cadang-cadang is spreading fast in the country and Camarines Sur and Albay are among the first provinces hit.
The pest, considered one of the most destructive pests of coconut and ornamental palms in the Asia-Pacific is called coconut leaf beetle (CLB) and is believed to have already infested 90,000 trees in the country; 40,000 of them in Palawan alone.
Senator Edgardo Angara had even urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to immediately declare a “stated of calamity” in 65 coconut-producing provinces to be able to institute measures to halt the infestation.
CLB was said to be just monitored in April in Metro Manila, then spread to Northern Bulacan, Southern Tagalog, Naga City and Pili in Camarines Sur, Oas, Daraga and Legazpi City in Albay and Allen, Northern Samar.
CLB, scientifically known as Bronthispa longissiva is endemic to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has destroyed $17.8 million coconut trees in Thailand.
Angara said he has met with officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture Research and Resource Development (PCARRD) to find ways and means to control and eradicate the CLB infestations.
Angara said that the CLB is worse than Cadang-cadang which hit the country in the 1950’s and the 1960’s.
Coconut products are the top agricultural exports of the country and 20% of Filipinos are dependent on coconuts.
