Winner’s View: Jim Snively On HLB Research

Winner's View

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Currently, the citrus industry is grappling with ways to fund the massive research effort to take on citrus diseases like greening and canker. There are three ideas to help fund this research effort being considered by the industry.

 

According to the 2008 Citrus Achievement Award winner Jim Snively, whichever idea is settled upon, citrus greening and canker are global problems for citrus producers and should be addressed that way.

“Diseases such as HLB and citrus canker are a problem not only for Florida, but also for Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and several other citrus producing regions around the world,” says Snively. “The ultimate impact of major diseases is not only on the grower but will definitively have bearing on processors and packers as well. These diseases are a worldwide citrus industry problem and we must all pull together to support finding ways to cure and or manage these maladies.

“Funding research for the citrus industry is extremely tight, but we must use whichever method will be the most efficient and effective to generate the money needed to move forward fast.

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“We are not certain if $20 million is enough or not enough. What we do know is that by having $20 million available to do research on citrus problems has generated interest from the world’s top scientists. We need this continued commitment from all aspects of our industry to win this battle.”

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