Quality cotton products to earn better profit - Clark
23 Aug '07
2 min read
Ministry of Agriculture hosted a workshop in Christ Church to train farmers and locals about the management of pests in the cotton industry.
Chief Agricultural Officer Barton Clarke during the inauguration stressed that country needed to focus on manufacturing quality products for exports instead of selling raw cotton.
He said that this will help generate better revenues from the Sea Island Cotton.
Around 40-50 farmers had gathered to attend this workshop. Clark explained, “All the analyses have shown that the cotton industry will not be able mark itself on the international arena by continuing to produce lint alone. Huge income can be earned only at the retail end of the sector.”
He emphasized that industry will not be competitive in the global market even at US $10 per pound.
Over 300 acres of land in Barbados is expected to be under cotton cultivation this year with anticipated yield of 400 pounds per acre.
Clarke noted that the pink bollworm remained the major threat to the industry, with the ability to reduce yields by 50 percent. "If we do things right, if we manage the crop effectively. If we control the pests we would be able to achieve better production than previous years."
He also stressed the need to reduce levels of pesticide and have greater control over pests in the industry.
Clark stated, "If we can demonstrate to the world that we have produced cotton without using pesticides, the value of that cotton will increase significantly."