Autonomous Bougainville Government acting President Joseph Watawi called on Bougainvilleans traveling out of East New Britain into Bougainville to ensure the disease remained in that province.
Watawi, who is also minister for business and consumer affairs, said the disease had destroyed East New Britain’s cocoa industry and if the disease entered Bougainville, “that would be the end of our cocoa industry.”
“Cocoa is a big money earner for most of us on Bougainville and we should all work together to look after the industry,” he said.
“I am calling on Bougainvilleans doing business in East New Britain to refrain from collecting any flowers of seedlings as this might attract the insects that destruct the cocoa pods.”
A 45-man delegation from Bougainville’s government, private sector and civil society groups are currently in East New Britain attending a workshop on how to contain the spread of the disease.
Watawi said the Bougainville administration will put measures in place to quarantine all air and sea ports so that no foreign flowers or plant species entered Bougainville.
“We are trying to protect the (cocoa) industry,” Watawi said.
“If it (cocoa pod borer) comes into Bougainville, it will come like bushfire. It is a serious threat and I want common sense to prevail at this critical time to protect our cocoa industry.” Watawi said the disease had wiped out cocoa industries in Indonesia and Malaysia and these countries had resolved to oil palm. If it wipes our cocoa industry, we will have no other cash crop that we can divert to immediately,” he said.
