SOURCE: Sheria Brathwaite, Barbados Today
As domestic production of papaya – known here as paw-paw – continues to decline, the Ministry of Agriculture is collaborating with two partner organisations to help farmers improve their yields.
For many years, farmers across the island have struggled to produce adequate quantities of sweet and juicy papaya, which has been internationally recognised as a superfood. The widespread bunchy top disease has left many trees bare or producing little to no flowers and fruit.
Once commonly grown in Barbadian backyards, paw-paw remains in high demand. According to statistics provided by the ministry, 96 per cent of locally produced paw-paw is consumed by Barbadians. Production peaked in 2013 at 325 353 kilogrammes but has since declined to an all-time low of 34 847 kilogrammes in 2021.
On average, the island produces approximately 151 340 kilogrammes annually, while an average of 68 496 kilogrammes is imported, mainly from Trinidad, each year. The wholesale value of papaya ranges from $4 to $6 per kilogramme.
In 2020, in the wake of an appeal by farmers, the agriculture ministry launched a revitalisation project. Agricultural officer Tony Rawlins said: “We looked for varieties that were tolerant to bunchy top disease and were able to source four varieties – sinta, bela nova, maradona and vega – from a Guatemalan company. We planted those varieties to see how well they would adapt to our conditions in Barbados and to test how well they would stand up to bunchy top disease.”
The ministry conducted two planting trials, and the first trial yielded positive results.
Rawlins explained: “These varieties produced well. The feedback from those who consumed the fruit said it had a long shelf life, was juicier, sweeter and had thicker flesh. But in terms of how they stood up to the disease, there were symptoms. We noticed that the sinta variety stood up the best in terms of tolerance to the disease. In terms of yields, the maradona variety produced the most fruit.”
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is providing support by identifying the varieties, helping farmers build capacity through training and developing a manual.
National programme officer Damien Hinds said: “From the younger generation, they complain that papaya is a mushy fruit, but with these varieties, the fruit is firmer. When we are doing our sensitisation workshops, one of the important elements is teaching them about when the fruit is ripe because these varieties do not get soft when ripe, which also gives the fruit more versatility for agro-processing.”
The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is also conducting a field trial in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, focusing on spacing. CARDI’s representative Chadeene Beckles said farmers need to know how far apart to grow the trees to reduce the spread of bunchy top disease in the field. For that trial, trees are grown ten feet apart and 12 feet apart.