Cow itch solution in the works, says AG

Government is setting up a programme to manage the nuisance of cow itch, primarily found on agricultural lands.

Attorney General Dale Marshall, SC, told the House of Assembly that while the plant was a serious concern for health authorities, all the evidence suggested that it could not be eradicated.

He was speaking on Tuesday as the House debated the Heath Services (Amendment) Bill 2024

which examined nuisances, especially overgrown lots. Marshall introduced the bill and said that Government was considering outlawing the pesky plant, which is usually seasonal.

However, during that consideration of a ban, the authorities consulted with the farming community, mindful that cow itch grew on agricultural land.

Those working in the area explained that during the prevalent sugar cane years the ground was usually planted with other crops and so was hardly out of use to allow time for the cow itch to overtake the land.

During that eye-opening discussion, Marshall said, it was pointed out that it was virtually impossible to destroy cow itch seeds and it would require the hiring of large number of persons to manually remove the cow itch.

“We have to focus on management rather than eradication,” he said.

The farming community was buttressed by the specialist in the ministry who pointed out it was not a one-year exercise but something that had to be constantly done as there were seven years of cow itch seeds, he stated.

Marshall also explained that the mechanical harvester used to reap the canes, when blowing out the shaft, also blew out the cow itch seeds that travel far on the wind. That would not have been the

case with the manual cutting of canes.

“It became evident that to impose a burden on farm lands to eradicate cow itch was one that would be counterproductive. The cost of so doing would make any farming that they do unprofitable,” he said.

The Member of Parliament said it was also resolved that if the farms were not being imposed on, it would not be fair to impose on residents.

The compromise was a cow itch management programme for all of Barbados which would see the threat and danger of cow itch reduced to a manageable level. (AC)