[?]Opra Production
p. 129 · Read in the full issue
Ooks Try To
[?]Oost
kURING the last two years little 9 progress has been made in Rarotonga’s copra industry, the nut production per tree re lins very low owing to rat damage, ercrowding, and the cutting of ives for thatching, rhe people show little interest in proving the management of their sonut plantations owing to the Dblems of land tenure, the long ■m effort involved, and the higher ;urns, obtained with less effort, im other crops. [n the outer islands, however, lere copra is the chief export, orts have been made to produce jre copra of better quality—and ese efforts have met with some When Mr. W. V. D. Pieris, copra pert of the SPC, visited the Cooks, recommended the use of the indard type Ceylon dryer. By ok Islands’ standards these kilns 2 expensive to construct, so a kiln sed on the Ceylon design but ilt with local materials was Dived and put into service.
Fhe Agriculture Department of e CIA introduced one of these ns to Aitutaki for demonstration rposes, and during the last year
three others have been built by pri vate owners.
Another copra drier was installed at Atiu, and recently this was en larged to three times its original size by members of an Atiu Co-op.
Society. An improved copra storage shed was also built.
At Mitiaro, a Planters’ Association was formed by the end of July with 40 members —practically the entire male population of the island.
The planters built a copra drier capable of handling their present annual output of 35 tons, and also constructed a storage shed designed by the Agriculture Department.
Demonstration planting was carried out at Mitiaro by Mr. Yates, of the Agriculture Dept., and the
planters agreed to make a com munal nursery with the object of extending coconut plantings by 1,000 trees per year. At present Mitiaro has 12,000 coconut trees and several private nurseries.
Owing to the increase in inter island shipping, the improved quality of copra exported, and its market ing through Community and Co-op. bodies, returns to many Cook Islands producers are higher than they have ever been before. —W.H.P.
II Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Carter, of Port Moresby, arrived in Australia in late September for a six weeks’ business-and-pleasure visit t o Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.