Wambugu apple could save Jamaica millions

Cultivation of the Wambugu apple variety in Jamaica could cut the import bill for the fruit, which amounts to hundreds of million each year, says CEO of the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), Vivion Scully.

"Jamaica imported over 1.4 million kilograms of apples last year, costing us more than $260 million and you can do the conversion in US dollars. Over the last five years, that amounts to [over] a billion Jamaican dollars' worth of apples imported into the country," he said. Scully was speaking at a recent training session on Wambugu apple production and seedling distribution at the Ebony Park Agro Park in Clarendon.

Developed in Kenya, the Wambugu apple is crisp, sweet and juicy, and is red in colour with specks of yellow. It is similar in taste to some American apples like the Juji. It thrives in warm, tropical climates where most other varieties do not. A key advantage of the Wambugu apple tree is that it can start producing fruit as early as nine months after planting, with mature trees yielding hundreds of apples per year. Scully said that one acre can hold up to 500 trees, and that the crop does not require a lot of water.

"Each tree, when mature, can yield up to 500 apples per tree within a five-year period, and with proper care can produce as much as 30 to 40 tons per acre annually," he added. Scully said that the intention is to introduce the apple to the Ebony Park Agro Park, which has more than 500 acres of land.

"The Wambugu apple gives us the opportunity to flip the script from being importers to producers and even exporters. What you learn today could very well shape Jamaica's next big agricultural success story," Scully told farmers at the session.