Suspicious Orange

Planters

Government Plan Meets Difficulties

From a Special Correspondent

Rarotonga, March 12.

mHE much-heralded orange planting JL scheme, inaugurated by citrus-ex pert M. B. Baker (who is at pre sent acting Director of Agriculture) is not receiving the amount of considera tion that it deserves.

Briefly, the scheme is that the Gov ernment will advance, to 150 growers, enough trees, manure, fence-wire, etc., to enable each to plant out one acre of oranges (90 trees), the only condi tion being that the land must be held solely by the planter concerned and that he keep it reasonably well-weeded and tended. Suitable budded trees, which will bear fruit in four years, are to be supplied from the Government Nursery, and the cost of the materials advanced, plus interest, amounting to about £2B, will be returned by deduct ing a percentage of the proceeds on the fruit shipped.

The chief causes of rejection by the native growers are:— (1) The fact that most of the land belongs to no one single man, but to all his family as well, necessitates a lease being sought through the Land Court, to which in 90 per cent, of cases the rest of the family will not agree. (2) The native growers are distrust ful of the Government’s idea of “rea sonable” attention and fear that in the event of Government demands proving unacceptable the land in question will be taken over by the Government.

However, the scheme, although per haps liable to be turned into bureau cratic despotism in the wrong hands, is practicable and to the point, and it would be unwise completely to reject such a genuine offer to help without explor ation of every possibility.

In the meantime, the applications are simply not coming forward, and a more serious note is struck by the fact that quite a number of the young trees in the nursery, which has been an expen sive undertaking, have now reached the transplanting stage. Independent grow ers, offering to buy these at 1/6 apiece, have been refused.

Should, however, the eagerly-awaited fruit prices for the coming season prove more favourable, the scheme will re ceive an undoubted lillip, and put the growers in a more trustful state of mind.

Mr. G. Peck, Assistant Superintendent of Police in Fiji, is at present spending six months’ furlough in the United Kingdom.