Samoa's Hurricane

Puts New Life Into

Banana Industry

From R. F. Rankin in Apia The devastation of the hurri cane of January 29 has al ready brought benefits to Wes tern Samoa in the form of an intensified replanting and re habilitation programme by the

Department of Agriculture, es

specially with regard to bananas.

KEY figures in the revitalisation of the department have been the Director, Mr. T. M. S. Cunliffe, and Mr. W. H. Smith, an Australian agri cultural scientist working under the expanded Australian Technical Assis tance programme, Mr. Smith is head of the campaign trying to eradicate bunchytop disease which has been seriously threatening the Samoan banana industry.

The hurricane, coming on top of the depredations of bunchytop, has given the Department of Agriculture a chance to enforce a tough policy aiming at a complete kill out of infected plantations before replanting.

Planters are being assisted in the organisation and planning of village replanting schemes, supply of planting material, fertiliser, and spraying service.

"Massive Aid"

“With aid from all sources now rapidly becoming a reality, it will be possible to give assistance on a com paratively massive scale,” Mr. Cun liffe says.

With the arrival in Apia in April of a $25,000 gift consignment of utility trucks, tools and weedicides, Australia has taken a prominent place in the banana campaign.

After a brief survey in April, a World Food Programme official, Mr.

R. Arnolda, said in Apia that he hoped his organisation might be able to provide free food to planters wait ing for the plantations to come into production again after replanting.

Banana exports during April were down to nil as a result of hurricane damage, but with a number of successful replanting schemes under way, it is expected that within another 18 months exports should show a spectacular improvement over the figures of the past few years— provided there are no more hurri canes.

Meanwhile, the exploitation of Western Samoa’s vast timber poten tial is moving steadily towards realisa tion.

In March it was announced in Apia that the Samoan Government had signed a Letter of Intent signifying its interest in proposals by a US corporation, Potlatch Forests, to in vest SUSIO million in the industry over the next five years.

In April, a Potlatch survey team arrived to carry out week-long in vestigations around the Asau area of Savaii. They were to make detailed assessments of the costs involved in putting in roads, water and power supply, and buildings necessary to establish the industry.

Accompanying Messrs. Shelton, Rauch and Blake, of Potlatch, on the survey were Messrs. J. Espie and J.

Hall, of the New Zealand firm of Fletcher Construction Co., and Mr.

T. Kopf, of Tecon Corporation of Dallas, Texas.

Both these firms are partners in the now-completed harbour project at Apia and the one now underway at Asau.

It is expected that when Potlatch wins government approval for the final go-ahead, Fletchers and Tecon will do the construction work in volved.

The survey in April was financed by Potlatch.