FARMERS along the Pomeroon River are pleading for help to cope with hundreds of parrots which are attacking their carambola fruit crop.Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) Vice-Chairman, Mr. Vishnu Samaroo told Councillors, at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) March meeting, that the planters have reported the damage to their harvest.
He said the complainants from both Upper and Lower Pomeroon made reports about the destruction of fruits on trees by parrots while carambola flies are feasting on the leftovers.
Samaroo told Councillors that farmers have observed an increase in the carambola flies and asked for assistance from the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) to get rid of them.
Reports said farmers are trying to chase away the parrots from their farms to save the carambola fruits but the situation is getting worse, because the birds would not go far and return quickly, in the hundreds, to feed on the delicious fruits.
The Vice-Chairman said field officers from the Department of Agriculture have visited farms and interacted with the farmers, giving technical advice on how to control the flies that are attacking the fruits.