A report has been prepared on the Palm Heart Trade which reveals alarming statistics.
NatureFiji-MareqetiViti’s Sago Palm Project has commissioned a report on the the Sago Palm Heart trade.
The report was prepared by Chinnamma Reddy and is based on interviews with the main harvesters and vendors.
There appear to be no more than about 20 people involved in the harvesting and selling of sago palm heart, but about 200 palms are probably felled each week for the trade.
This is a mortality factor which cannot be sustained given the current state of the Sago Palm and the fact that it only fruits once in its 20 year life span…before dying.
NatureFiji-MareqetiViti is in discussion with the Department of Agriculture on its plans to introduce the Peach Palm, which is grown commercially for its heart, in Hawaii and in central and south America.
The Peach Palm is a clumping species and so removing one stem does not kill the palm, as is the case with Sago.