 The Caribbean Research and Development Institute Cardi and the Ministry of Agriculture have taken proactive steps to safeguard the productivity of the coconut subsector. This as an intensive one-day workshop was convened for coconut farmers, plant health and extension advisory services officers of the Ministry of Agriculture on improved funnel trap design for trapping the South American palm weevil, more commonly called the coconut weevil. Newly installed Cardi representative for Sintusha Bari Innocent says this activity supports the ongoing interventions by the plant research and development department of the Ministry of Agriculture to protect the integrity of crops, maintaining buoyancy within the subsector and building resilience of our local food systems against pests and diseases. This training is important for two main reasons. One is national food security and that's because a lot of persons depend on the coconut industry and one from the other for as a food in itself. But also the other important reason is for rural livelihoods or allowing streams of income for the farmers and the processors. I mean look when you drive the highways of Sintusha you see so many people selling coconut water you go to the supermarket you see so many coconut products. In light of these livelihoods we thought it important to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and at their request to provide this training that would help in identification, training identification of the pests, how to manage the pests, how to put traps for the pests and how to control the pests because if the pest is not controlled it can affect the coconut industry in Sintusha. The training workshop focused participants' attention on the updated protocol for the management and surveillance of the coconut weevil under the guidance of visiting plant health specialists attached to the Cardi Cayman Island office Dr. Annika Minot. According to her, proper identification and management of the pests is essential should Sintusha make good on its plants to grow the coconut sub-sector and develop the coconut value chain. The rincoforus pamerum that's or the South American palm weevil it's been present in Sintusha but now we're seeing it expressing itself a lot more. Now this weevil has a potential it is a pest of the coconut and it can if you have a lot of larval feeding on the plants it can kill the tree. It also vectors the red ring nematode which also is a problem on coconuts as well. It's critical that we address the situation because this could potentially cause losses to the trees. The agriculture ministry has over the years worked on implementing interventions and programs to help build capacity within the coconut sub-sector. This week's training workshop on the management of the coconut weevil was an output by Cardi and the agriculture ministry under the coconut industry development project which is funded by the international trade center the ITC through the European Union and the organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries the ACP. From the information and communication unit of the Ministry of Agriculture I am Amanda Faye-Clock reporting.