We publish our Front and Back pages here every Friday at about Noon, Eastern Time. A virtual plague of billions of tiny black flies is threatening to suck the juice out of Dominica's citrus industry. Worried agricultural officials and farmers say control measures have to be taken soon if the million dollar industry is to survive.
Farmers say they are worried.
Mr. Erskine Larocque, a citrus grower in the Syndicate area, near Dublanc, said he has lost his entire orange crop this year to the black flies. I usually sell between 5,000 to 20,000 oranges a year, but this year I will have zero. The Black Fly was not there last year and now we are very seriously infected. The coastal areas are completely taken and its heading for the interior. Besides losing his orange crop, Mr. Charles has another serious concern.