 Hello, everyone, and welcome to the program, Agriculture on the Move. My name is Philip Sidney, your host. Today, our discussion surrounds International Day of Plant Health 2023. What is plant health? With me to discuss this topic is Mrs. Hannah Romain, who is the chief plant research officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. Welcome to the program, ma'am. Hi, good afternoon, Mr. Sidney. Thanks for having me. Yes, of course. It's always a pleasure having you on our program, especially when we bring good news to the public, informing them and telling them what's happening in your section. International Day of Plant Health. I mean, what's really plant health? Okay, plant health. Plants are considered healthy when they can carry their physiological functions. And when I say physiological functions, I mean the ability to absorb water, the ability to flower, the ability to fruit. When they can do that to the best of the genetic potential, that means that they're doing it very well. So this is generally what a healthy plant is about. So why are they set aside specific for plant health? Okay, so the United Nations designated the 12th of May every year as International Day of Plant Health. Why? Because of the importance of plants. Plants, they provide us with the oxygen that we breathe in, they provide us with fiber. In fact, plants really are the main primary producers. They're the one which sustains the planet. So, and we see that every year 40% of plant production is affected by plant pests and diseases. So there is very, this is a very important area that we need to focus on, just like we focus on human health. We realize that plant health is an extricable link to human health and if we don't care for our plants, then we ourselves, we can't survive because we depend on our plants for survival. In other words, there is a symbiotic relationship between humans and plants. That's right. One cannot live without the other. That's correct. So humans now must care for the plant that they eat. That's correct. So if there are pest diseases that are affecting plants, what do we do? Okay, so we care for those plants. Just like you care for your body as a human being, you ensure that you provide the plants with all of the nutrients that are required so that the plants can live a healthy life. You ensure that you put in the right substances and you don't use harsh chemicals on the plant. You don't abuse the plant. You ensure that the plant receives its timely nutrients, water, sunlight, all of the factors that are required for a healthy plant. And in addition, you ensure that you safeguard the plants from pests and diseases. How you carry yourself in terms of moving other plants, in terms of moving the equipment that you use, do you sanitize those pieces of equipment after using it in your garden or using it in other areas? Do you ensure that you use clean garden tools to prevent the movement of pathogens, whether it be a virus, whether it be bacteria, whatever pathogen moving it from one area to the next. So you protect that plant. You ensure that that plant is remain free of pests and diseases. Okay, that is done. However, you will still have pests and diseases affecting plants. I have a problem, not only me, but there are persons out there that consume plants, crops, vegetables, and they're concerned with the harsh chemicals that are being used to control pests. Are there any other alternative measures that can be taken to control pests? Of course, there are. And generally, what we have found over the years, we do see many producers going to use in some harsh chemicals. However, the ministry has already taken decisions and put plans in place to inform and to provide the farmers with alternative sources of chemicals that can be used to protect plants. So you do have, in addition to alternative chemicals per se, there are practices that can be used to prevent the entry of pests and diseases. We have seen over the years the impact of highly hazardous chemicals on plant production and the environment. And what we are looking to as a ministry is to bring in what you call alternatives that are biological in nature. So you do have microorganisms which are very beneficial in the environment, and they do help to control pests and diseases. I don't know if you recall in 1997 when we had the entry of the pink millibug, and we realized that because of the nature of the pests, pesticides was not an alternative. It was, we could not have used it to control that pest because it was a millibug in nature and the millibug is able to shield itself on the white coat. So we had to use what we call biological control. So we had to bring in natural enemies to come in, like the milli, like what we call Anagyros and Cryptolemus. These are the scientific names, but they were actually Ladybug beetles which came in and they fed on or they parasitized the millibug and they killed it off. And we saw that our hibiscus and our other varieties within the same family, like the okra, they began surviving. So we do have those alternatives and they do exist in the environment. We have mites and lace-winged bugs and many other organisms that live in the environment and they do their do. The use or abuse of pesticides can eliminate those natural enemies, and this is why sometimes we encourage the farmers to reduce on the constant use of those pesticides to allow for the proliferation of those natural enemies, which do their job very well. If we only incorporate them with what you call an integrated management approach, that's right. So you have a little of everything. Just like we as human beings, we care for ourselves. We don't always go to the pharmacy. Sometimes we run to what we call the Guenaba Fei and we run to the Kokopo and we run to those because they all support our physical system in helping us become healthy human beings. Similarly, the plants too have their own natural remedies that can be used to reduce underpest pressure. I just ask you on the question of environment. I realize this year's theme, plant health for environmental protection. So you see how it ties in quite nicely. That's correct because of course the use and abuse of pesticides have caused a lot of harm to our environment, our waterways, our fish, our wildlife, especially our bees. We saw it lead out many of the chemicals that we used to use on a daily basis. Some of them have now been removed from the pesticide list. And this is all in an effort to reduce under use of those highly hazardous chemicals which of course can impact our environment, can do quite a bit of damage. But Hannah, they're taking too long Hannah. I find a lot of those chemicals there to be quite honest if you you know the organophosphates. Those things should be extinct man because those are half chemicals. Not only when you spray this thing and you feel not protected you know with your goggles and your respirators. We are getting affected also. Okay so I have good news. I know very soon we will see in the next couple of days we will see that a very long list of pesticides will be removed on the national list or on the list of approved pesticides for St. Lucia. This means that persons will no longer be able to purchase those or will be able to import those into St. Lucia. So this is a step in the right direction. Yes that's good, good news. It's good news. And what this will do is to allow us to move into those botanicals. Those new pesticides that have been researched over the years and we have found them to be a little milder on the environment and allow for the proliferation of other microorganisms that help in the health of the plants. I know there are also plants that can be used in your integrated pest management that repel those insects. That's correct. So you do have plants they what we say in the scientific world is that they produce allelopathic properties in that based on their sense and their orders. They can repel other insects. They can detour other insects because they're so loud that when the pest approaches the field they get distracted so they don't know or they tend not to be able to identify what crop is growing behind this barrier if you're using this. So some persons if you go to some gardens you'll find some persons already have rosemary around they will have what you call the thyme and many others that are very good at putting out there and trying to detour pests in the field. So they have been successful over the years. I know some farmers use them quite often. They do have very good results but we're just hoping that as time goes by and farmers are educated they will now revert to some of those. But is the ministry or your department or your unit are they telling other farmers about this so that they can see the economic returns from this? Of course. Of course. Of course. Many persons are going health conscious and we have been preaching it to the farmers and the farmers themselves have come to realize the impact of pesticides on their own health. They have stories some of them don't share but they do have stories so they are well aware of it and they are open to accept and to make those changes very small changes because we do understand that the chemicals can be a little quicker than those natural or biological agents. So it is something that they need to really plan very well. So many farmers are moving in that direction and they will say to you that they do not want to use those hash chemicals. They do understand how it affects their health and they are slowly moving into it but we are hoping that many more farmers are moving to it and as long as we can get those alternatives after the research has been conducted I am certain that they will all be utilizing them. But one of the things I notice there's a lot of emphasis but correct me if I'm wrong. A lot of emphasis being put on international day of best plant health and you all would have had of course lectures and seminars and whatever to sensitize the public and farmers and back yard gardeners etc. But is there a vigorous program in place where it is done yearly or annually on a regular basis? Yes so the International Day of Plant Health as I said is a legacy of the International Day of Plant Health 2020 and what we try to push is to educate persons of how protecting plants can help reduce hunger, eliminate poverty, improve our food security, boost economic activity and so much. So this year's activity of course we've had it from 2020 and 2021 was we did not celebrate it in a big way because of Covid but 2020 too we did and this year we're hoping to have a grand celebration. Actually we were on during the entire week we've been really aggressive with public awareness we'll be having a plant clinic at the National Agriculture Diagnostic Facility and this plant clinic just like you have the health centers. Well hold that point because we are due for our break. You watching agriculture and the move stay tuned don't go away. And I sustain millions more. Abundance brings prosperity while my scarcity can be deadly. I cover much of the earth's extends far beyond. The world is threatened. People need to take notice and do more to secure my future because I am worth protecting. Your health relies on my health, your life. Welcome back to the program Agriculture on the Move and of course we're talking about International Day of Plant Health 2023. And of course Hannah Romain is with me in studio and of course she is the Chief Plant Research Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. Hannah we spoke about the theme. We spoke about just what getting into what are the programs that you have put in place to sensitize the public as far as plant health is concerned. Okay so this week we're hoping to have a little more schools involved. And because we do understand that it starts here with the young ones letting them know that plants do get sick as well and it's important to care for plants. So we're hoping to have a few activities at schools. However our main drive this year will be the plant clinics. So we're looking forward to having a plant clinic just like you have our health clinics where people go in to see what they are affected by or we have our plant clinic to see what the plants really are affected by, what is happening to the plants. So if persons have sick plants at home or if farmers have pest problems, plant issues that they've not been able to diagnose, it's an opportunity to walking with your samples in your bag and take it there to the labs so that the technicians at the lab can help them, assist them in identifying the problems and to provide them with management options on their farms. So this is, and of course this will also, this is the, there will also be an opening ceremony on that day just to open the day in a grand way. So this too will be taking place at the National Agricultural Diagnostic Facility and of course we've been on the airwaves and television for the week just to let persons know how important it is to protect our plants. And this year's focus, we are going in a grand way in informing persons of the banana disease that's looming on the horizon and this is the banana wilt, Tropical Risk 4. And this disease as we, we've been sharing out there where we've been going out to the communities, we've been sharing and educating farmers about how this disease can be very deadly. It is getting very close to home. So we know that in the 1950s, when this, the mildest strain of this disease, the Fusarium wilt, when it came into way East Asia in the 1950s, it devastated completely all the, the Gommichel varieties and I don't know if you recall this Gommichel variety that was very sweet. Very sweet. Very nice. And what it forced us to do is to go into a more resistant variety which we now have and we call Cavendish. Cavendish, yes. However now we realize that the Tropical Risk 4 is even more aggressive and it can eliminate the entire banana industry. You mean entire mussel species? That's correct. So all bananas, plantains, alicornia, all of those within the banana family can be wiped out. We saw that in sometime in 2021, I think it entered Columbia and shortly after it moved into Peru and we saw earlier this year in January, it moved into Venezuela. That's too close to home. Yes. And we don't understand the, the kind of trade that exists between Venezuela and Trinidad and of course there are, there is always clandestine activities in all around. So it's, it's a major threat to our banana industry. And sadly there is no cure for the disease. Once it comes in, it's there to see, it can actually stay in the soil for about 25 years. Soil, soil born? It is a soil born disease. It feeds within the xylem versus it blocks the valent xylem versus it prevents the plant from taking all of its nutrients, all its, all its water and everything. It stifles the plant? It stifles the plant essentially. So there are no, should I say, commercial varieties that are resistant to the disease. Of course there is research going on now. But are they tolerable? There, there are, however for food security, there are varieties that we, we can explore. However, the taste is the issue. And we, I don't think we'll be able to get a variety that may be so tasty as what we had in the past. This is always the challenge when you have an invasive species coming on our hand. And we have to now look for alternatives to help, you know, deliver the disease. So the disease now is in Venezuela and we have now been, should I say, building or, or pushing or, or we have become a little more aggressive on public awareness campaigns because we need farmers to understand that. We need farmers to know that, hey, this is a time where we cannot have persons just walking in and out of your banana fields anymore. We talk about biosecurity, farm security. Farm security. We need to, we need farmers to understand that they may eventually have to fence their farms, which is another challenge on our hands. Costly. Costly. We need farmers to understand that very soon persons cannot just walk in on out. We need farmers to understand that they need to put measures in place to even ensure that when they travel or when persons travel that they don't move with those shoes or they don't come in and sanitize their shoes before they walk into their farms. So it just shows you the kind of pressure that it will place on farmers now. Even on the borders, we now have to put measures in place. Persons who are traveling can no longer just walk from a farm overseas and walk into the country. They need to know that they have to leave those shoes in that country where they visited. You know. What about imported vehicles? Imported vehicles. I'm secondhand vehicles. That's correct. Those tires. I have seen heavy equipment coming in and they're on the boat and they're filled with soil. That's correct. So all of those measures must be put in place to reduce on the risk because this pathogen it moves on soil, it moves on water, it moves on contaminated equipment, it moves on contaminated tools. So we need to ensure that persons are well aware of all of those risks and that they put whatever measures, all of the measures that they need to put in place to save God, our country, to save God. And it's not in St. Lucia yet? And it is not in St. Lucia yet. We need to emphasize that. It is not present in St. Lucia. However, we need to do all what we can to keep it out. That's very important. I know a few years ago we began. That's right. You know. But I think we still have lapsed a bit. But I think that we need to attack the preventative measures with, you know, I mean, let us do what we're supposed to do vigorously. Yes. So we have been working on the ports in terms of plant quarantine at present. We don't allow any plant material and banana form to enter the country. And we still have persons. What's about food, food, food bags? We still have persons. Sadly, I want to say this. Oh, yes. We'll still try to bring in banana material. Just recently I visited the ports and I saw somebody brought in a package of banana leaves, which they said that they brought it in to garnish or to decorate. So you don't lose them? You don't lose them, Lucia? So I'm saying why package all the way from, I think it was some very distant country in the East. And to bring in those banana leaves. And this just shows you the level of risk that we're dealing with. Yes. So since they're still on our way, how dangerous, how aggressive this disease can be, the ability of disease to wipe out the entire banana industry. But yet still, persons are still engaging themselves in those kinds of activities. You don't have to go too far, you know. A lot of the diseases that have come into our island, that's all they came in, you know. People bringing in live animals, you know, pets, you know, getting cuttings of exoras and other, in the hand luggage. Sadly. Sadly. And you don't understand how this impacts our food security. Exactly. And now, I mean, bananas, let us take a look at just bananas, how the impact of this thing. Of course, many persons have been saying, oh, you're looking to see if they can have an alternative to bananas. But really, and truly bananas is really our mainstay. It is. This is our mainstay. Definitely. Without, if you realize, Mr. Sydney, that after the banana industry kind of declined a bit, many other commodities we saw were on the decline. Why? Because all of those farmers who did the dashing and the yam, they penned on the banana farmers who were going up the hill early in the morning. To get the commodities, all of those suffered. Because many of them depended on the banana farmers to get a ride, to go up to the farms, to take down their loads. Correct. You know, so the banana farmers, they support quite, you know, many ways. Many, many ways. And in supporting the agricultural industry. And we would hate to see that this is coming to Senusha and wipe out our banana industry. That would really be the saddest day for Senusha. To be heart wrenching. That's correct. What are the symptoms of that disease? So how can a farmer identify that disease on his field? If it do get in, God forbid. Okay. So some of the early symptoms we see is the yellowing of the leaves. We see the toppling of the leaves. We see splitting of the stems. At times you can also see that the plant may have a reddish color. If you cut open the vascular system or the stem, like some of them will say, you will see this discoloration. So all of those. So there are key symptoms that they will observe. And I will say to them, to the farmers, whatever strange symptom that you see in the field, even though you're not sure what it is, let the ministry know. Don't cut the tree. Don't attempt to move it to us. We want to come to you. We will come to you. We will come to look into the matter. We would like that they leave it to us, but inform us. That's the most important. Inform us because we don't want to be moving any pathogen around. We don't want to be putting the entire country at risk. Early detection is very important. So we say to them, let us know very early. Any strange symptom, any strange exhibition, let us know. We would like to be on board and to ensure that they are protected, the farms are protected. What we have been doing lately is we have been having some very aggressive campaigns within the communities. So we have the crop protection officers who conduct trainings with farmers, with extension officers to let them know about the disease, how to identify it, how to make, of course, early, early detections in terms of seeing strange symptoms and calling us and informing us of what they've seen. I remember. Take a pic. Everybody has a... You can drive in it. That's what I was going to. Every farmer now, they have their smartphones. So take a picture, send it over to us, and we will be at the farms right away. At the point of entry, do you think it might be necessary to have billboards and... Certainly, certainly. So we have begun putting those billboards together. In fact, we have been... We have what you call an emergency action plan which has been endorsed by the Caribbean plant health directors for an under project which the FAO supported and to ensure that countries are aware and are prepared for this disease. So we will be rolling out this emergency action plan taking into consideration that this disease has become so much closer than we anticipated. And so in such short time, so we will be rolling out this emergency action plan very soon. We have started our little bit underground but we will be getting a little more aggressive. So we've decided that we'll use this international day of plant health to start things or to be... To get more aggressive rather. Noting that, you know, education is important. Persons need to know people, they need to be aware. And that's what it is. And I want to thank you for being here. I already have come to the end of the program and, of course, as you know, it's life so we have to end at a specific time. Thank you for being here. And of course, I hope you all continue to be aggressive to ensure that that disease does not get too sent, Lucia, to affect our banana industry. Thank you again. You've been watching Our Culture on the Move. Again, thank you for viewing. I'm Philip Sidman saying goodbye and see you again.