The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) is part of the problem, according to an op-ed in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“After spending $150 million in taxpayer- and industry-funded research to defeat HLB, CRDF has failed” to get any closer to saving Florida citrus from the deadly bacteria.
“Part of the CRDF’s failure was its refusal for years to consider a potential rapid, low-cost solution repeatedly offered for testing. Instead, CRDF focused on expensive projects from politically connected chemical multinationals,” the author, a scholar from Washington, DC, wrote.
“CRDF is still avoiding a study. Meanwhile, USDA reports that the HLB plague metastasized to citrus crops 13 other states and territories. The citrus plague is now an agricultural pandemic.”
