The fight to wipe out giant African snail in the country is possible if more funds are pumped into the budget to contain it from spreading.
This was highlighted before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday by the bio security officer for Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) Francis Tsatsia.
It was revealed that only $1 million is being allocated for the project to fight giant African snail that can only take two to three months activity which is not enough.
“Giant African snail can’t fly, they crawl so it’s easy to eradicate,” he said.
“We liaise with SPC to provide chemicals to reduce population and advice our people to clean their surroundings and remove logs which are the breeding sites,” Tsatsia further stated.
He said that they have been asked for fund to eradicate this pest since year 2006 when the population was still small.
“It can still be eradicate since it is only found in Honiara and Guadalcanal and make sure this is not going out to the provinces,” Tsatsia stated.
He said that MAL has the capacity but lack of funding and resources makes it difficult to end this unwanted insect.
He said about 1$0 million is needed to eradicate giant African snail.
“This will probably take 10 to 15 years,” he said.
By AATAI JOHN
