How the ‘coconut island’ lost its coconuts

The relationship between Saint Martin’s Island and coconut runs deep to the point that it ended up earning an alternative name– ‘Narikel Jinjira’ or the ‘coconut island’. Almost every household on the island owns a few coconut trees. But a heavy bug infestation has brought production of the staple crop on the island to a halt in the last two years, leaving many of its inhabitants dealing with an economic shock.

Where once islanders used to export coconuts, now they are having to source it from neighbouring areas. The price of the fruit has multiplied in the meantime while sales have dropped, leaving many islanders struggling with income.

However, according to the locals and government officials, the insect infestation is not the only reason for the poor state of coconuts in Saint Martin’s. Negligence of authorities, cutting down of old trees to build hotels and restaurants, lack of new plantations has been threatening production of the fruit for a long time.

Coconut paradise under threat

Located in the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 10 km south of the tip of the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, Saint Martin’s is the one and only coral island of Bangladesh. Lush coconut trees, picturesque crystal blue water with endless blue sky above, and various seafood has made it a tourists’ paradise. The small island measures eight square kilometres with a population of around 10,000. According to historians, the abundance of coconut trees earned the island its alternative name– Narikel Jinjira. Almost all of its inhabitants are directly or indirectly involved in the production and selling of coconuts.

However, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) does not have a count of how many coconut trees there are on the island.

Some locals claim the island was once full with around one lakh coconut trees. According to former chairman of Saint Martin Union Parishad (UP) Firoz Ahmad Khan, the island only has around 6,000 trees at present. The number was over 8,000 a few years ago.

“In the last few years, more than 2,500 coconut trees have been cut to create hotels, resorts, restaurants and settlements. Several trees have been destroyed by the storm. Now there are about 6,000 coconut trees in total,” said Firoz. Visiting the islands’ various areas, including Zeti Ghat Bazar, Paschim Para, Majher Para, Dakshin Para, Purba Para, this correspondent found that almost every house has a few coconut trees, while some houses have 50-60 trees.

Despite the abundance of trees, there was no coconut in most of them.

Also, according to Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) sources, due to unplanned construction on the island, the roots of the coconut trees are struggling to expand. Hence, despite being known as the ‘tree of life’, coconut trees are slowly dying on the island as their roots cannot reach the water level, which keeps falling every year.

Whitefly infestation and economic shock

Saint Martin’s island’s economy is predominantly dependent on tourism, alongside fishing. Up until two years ago, low-priced coconuts accounted for a big portion of its tourism economy.

But a massive infestation of whitefly - sap sucking soft-bodied insects- has effectively brought coconut production to a halt in recent years.

“I have more than 20 coconut trees around my house. Even two years ago each tree had a large yield, but now the fruit is falling from the tree. A type of whitefly is destroying the fruit,” said Abdur Rauf, a former UP member of Dakshinpara No. 9 Ward.

“We have informed the agriculture office. They have told us that they will take action after the tourist season,” he added. The production fall has forced traders to import coconut from neighbouring upazilas and districts, where they used to export the fruit previously. The import has led to price hikes and lower sales.

In two years, the price of per piece coconut has increased to Tk 150-200 from Tk 50-60. But due to low sales, the traders are struggling to make much profit as tourists are reluctant to pay such high prices for the fruit.

Moreover, coconut produced in the island used to hold an average of three glasses of water five years ago. Now, although sold at several times higher prices, the imported coconuts only contain one glass of water.

Abdus Sukkur, a local resident, works as a caretaker on land bought by a doctor of a hospital in Dhaka.

Talking to The Business Post, he said, “Earlier my family used to survive during the tourist season with the income from selling coconut from our trees. But now the coconut that comes from Teknaf is not sold because the price is too high.

“People do not want to drink coconut water at such a high price. So, the business has stopped.”

When asked about the infestation, Teknaf Upazila Agriculture Officer Zakirul Islam told The Business Post, “We have noticed the attack of whitefly since last year. This fly nests in succulent fruit trees and damage the crops directly by sucking on the sap, which weakens the plant. The insects use their piercing mouthparts to suck up plant juices and, in turn, produce a sticky substance known as honeydew. Honeydew left on its own can cause fungal diseases such as sooty mold to form on leaves.

“We have reported the matter to the Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DAE). Its solution is very complicated, expensive and some damage to the environment has not been done yet.”

However, he added that the authorities have decided to take necessary measures through the UNO office to deal with the infestation after the tourist season ends.

When asked, Director General of Agriculture Extension Department (DAE) Badal Chandra Biswas said, “Whitefly infestation has been recorded across the country, not just on Saint Martin’s Island. Coconut production is decreasing due to the attack of this insect for the last 5-6 years.

“We do not have the necessary instruments to deal with these pesticides. At present, the food pump that we use to spray coconut trees cannot be used on tall trees. Most of the trees in Saint Martin are very old and tall. However, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute is working on this. We hope to get a solution soon.”

According to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, in the fiscal year 2021-22, the country produced green coconut on a total of 61,093 acres of land, down from the 62,576 acres in the previous fiscal.