Cocoa Trees (Disease)

HC Deb 11 April 1951 vol 486 cc1004-5

29. Mr. W. Fletcher

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is now in a position to give any further information on the efforts to combat swollen shoot disease in cocoa trees in Nigeria; and what proportion of the £70,000,000 profit made by the Government in selling this commodity has been spent on counteracting the disease.

Mr. J. Griffiths

With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate a statement on the first part of the Question in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

With regard to the second part of the Question the proceeds of the marketing of Nigerian cocoa accrue, not to the Government of Nigeria, but to the Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board, which had accumulated reserves of some £18½ million at the 30th September, 1949. More recent figures are not yet available. A sum of over £1 million has been allocated by the Board to finance schemes for disease control and the rehabilitation of the cocoa areas during the period 1950 to 1955, and before this the Board had spent about £300,000 on similar schemes.

Mr. Fletcher

In view of the very optimistic statements made by the right hon. Gentleman's predecessor about cutting out swollen shoot disease and the lack of performance since then, and also the fact that there is now a month's suspension of cutting out in one of the Colonies, does he realise the great seriousness of this disease, which is endangering the whole future of cocoa production in West Africa and needs firmer action and the better use of the money set aside for it than at present?

Mr. Griffiths

I am fully aware of the seriousness of the disease. Unfortunately, all investigation and research so far have not discovered any remedy for dealing with it except that of cutting out. I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a full report of steps that have been and are being taken.

Mr. Peter Smithers

Is it not a fact that the future prosperity of the people of Nigeria and the Gold Coast depends on the success of the cutting out programme more than on anything else?

Mr. Griffiths

It does depend on the success of our efforts in getting rid of this disease.

Mr. Keeling

Are the cocoa farmers in Nigeria themselves now co-operating wholeheartedly in the policy of cutting out?

Mr. Griffiths

I think I can say that there is very much less resistance and better understanding of our policy now than hitherto.

Following is the statement: The policy adopted since last May to control the swollen shoot disease of cocoa in Nigeria has been to withdraw the survey teams and cutting out gangs from an area roughly within 30 miles radius of Ibadan where the disease is endemic, and to concentrate on preventing the spread of the disease to areas which are either clear or only lightly infected. Field survey parties have been engaged in making an intensive survey of the perimeter of the endemic area, which has, with the exception of a comparatively short line in the south, now been well determined. The work is organised so that every farm is visited every six months, and the ground has now been covered twice under this new system. Elsewhere, the survey continues in the normal manner and no new outbreaks of swollen shoot disease have been discovered. Opposition to the work of both the survey teams and the cutting-out gangs has been reduced to negligible proportions and, consequently, the work is now able to proceed systematically with comparatively little interruption. In addition to their routine duties, the survey parties everywhere are constantly demonstrating to farmers improved methods of farm maintenance, means of improving the quality and cleanliness of the cocoa they produce, and methods of controlling black pod disease. In addition to this work, a special team of propagandists has been employed to visit villages reported to be producing poor quality cocoa, and excellent results have been obtained from this organisation. The rehabilitation of the swollen shoot area will call for a carefully co-ordinated plan of orderly development based on soil types which will be determined by the Cocoa Soil Survey which is now being organised. This rehabilitation has produced special problems which are new both to the Agricultural Department and to the farmer, and as a first step towards the implementation of any rehabilitation policy, the Department has acquired the use of cut-out farms where replanting experiments are in progress. Elsewhere in the area the economy can only be maintained by the use of alternative crops, and nurseries have been established at suitable centres to supply improved planting material of citrus and oil palms. In addition, a pioneer oil mill has been established in the area. In order to maintain a supply of improved cocoa planting material for planting, both in the new areas and for the regeneration of old farms, a special cocoa propagation centre has been established.