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Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 05, 2012 (SKNIS): Farmers in Sandy Point are making small but impressive strides as they celebrated the society’s 2nd anniversary recently.
One of the highlights of a successfully held week of activities was a town hall meeting held in Sandy Point under the co-op’s 2012 theme: “Better preparations, Better Results.” The meeting saw presentations by a number of different stakeholders in Agriculture.
In opening remarks, president of SPACS Lionel Stevens said he was pleased with the attendance to the meeting, as it showed that in Sandy Point, there is support in feeding the nation and promoting food security to eradicate hunger from St. Kitts and Nevis. He said for him “2” was a special number, for it not only showed that they had passed the first stage in their efforts and had not given up, but were also on the move upward.
Meshach Alford, Senior Physical Planner in the Ministry of Sustainable Development said Sandy Point, like other locations throughout St. Kitts and Nevis has an assigned land use development plan which gives serious consideration to the promotion and protection of the health and safety of the residents of each area.
He explained that it was important for lands to be zoned to determine the most appropriate areas for agricultural activity.
Eric Browne, Communications Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture in congratulating the Sandy Point Agricultural Co-operative
on its 2nd anniversary said St. Kitts and Nevis still has a long way to go in utilizing the opportunities that are available in Agriculture. Just the amount of food that is currently being imported into the Federation is an opportunity to expand operations here.
“The fact that Dominica and other places still bring fruits and vegetables here by boat” said Browne, “means there is a market.”
According to Browne, fruit and vegetable production in the Federation is not enough to supply the demand for more than half of each year.
He mentioned agro-processing and agro-tourism as two other ways upon which opportunities in tourism can be capitalized.
A thirty minute question and answer session generated a healthy discussion on different issued raised from presentations made.
The evening’s event came to a close with the reciting of a poem “Agriculture” by Wrick Lennon and a vote of thanks by Damian Woodley. Other activities for the week were panel discussions at specific schools, tree planting, radio programmes and a Raffle at the Sandy Point Public Market. source:http://sknlist.com/community/20120305c.html | ||||||
Monday, 5 March 2012
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SPACS Ltd Celebrates 2 years
Written by MiyVue.com Staff WriterPosted On: Monday, 05 March 2012
Basseterre, St. Kitts, (Monday 5th March, 2012) - Farmers in the Sandy Point Agricultural Co-operative Society, (SPACS), recently celebrated the organization’s 2nd anniversary with a week of activities.
One of the highlights was a town hall meeting, held in Sandy Point, under the co-op’s 2012 theme: “Better preparations, Better Results.” The meeting saw presentations by a number of different stakeholders in Agriculture.
In his opening remarks, president of SPACS Lionel Stevens expressed satisfaction with the high level of attendance, as it showed that in Sandy Point, there is support in feeding the nation and promoting food security, to eradicate hunger from St. Kitts and Nevis.
He said for him “2” was a special number, for it not only showed that they had passed the first stage in their efforts and had not given up, but were also on the move upward.
Senior Physical Planner in the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Meshach Alford said Sandy Point, like other locations throughout St. Kitts and Nevis has an assigned land use development plan which gives serious consideration to the promotion and protection of the health and safety of the residents of each area. He explained that it was important for lands to be zoned to determine the most appropriate areas for agricultural activity.
Eric Browne, Communications Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture in congratulating the Sandy Point Agricultural Co-operative on its 2nd anniversary said St. Kitts and Nevis still has a long way to go in utilizing the opportunities that are available in Agriculture. Just the amount of food that is currently being imported into the Federation is an opportunity to expand operations here.
“The fact that Dominica and other places still bring fruits and vegetables here by boat” said Browne, “means there is a market.”
According to Browne, fruit and vegetable production in the Federation is not enough to supply the demand for more than half of each year. He mentioned agro-processing and agro-tourism as two other ways upon which opportunities in tourism can be capitalized.
A thirty minute question and answer session generated a healthy discussion on different issues raised from presentations made. The evening’s event came to a close with the reciting of a poem, “Agriculture”, by Wrick Lennon and a vote of thanks by Damian Woodley. Other activities for the week were panel discussions at specific schools, tree planting, radio programmes and a Raffle at the Sandy Point Public Market.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Promoting Backyard Farming
Written by MiyVue.com Staff WriterPosted On: Thursday, 23 February 2012Last Updated: Thursday, 23 February 2012
File Photo
The Bloice family of St. Paul’s was the subject of much important mention over the unusual sized pumpkin, from the Minister and Ministry of Agriculture.
Minister Agriculture Dr. Timothy Harris said, “We would certainly want to congratulate the Bloice family, of who has been the beneficiary of what, in our context certainly would be a large pumpkin, weighing thirty pounds. We want to offer them our congratulations on what has been a fantastic find, and hope that the produce of that nature would encourage them to continue in their particular efforts.”
The Minister of Agriculture said he was pleased with this move, which he described as a testimony to the fact, that we can each do our part to advance and maintain our own food security.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis on a whole have been diligent in their thrust to pursue food security and nutrition as a national policy, as evidenced in the launch of Operation Food Security some years ago, they are still open to applauding ownership at the individual level.
The Ministry is also reaching out and offering technical guidance and support to persons interested in producing their own simple foods such as herbs and other seasoning implements, planting lime and other fruit trees and rearing of small livestock such as rabbits etc. Very similar to the Bloices, some people have managed to do quite well overtime, even with limited space, until expansion becomes possible. One such family is the Hodges family of Tabernacle.
“One good example we have had before is a Mrs. Hodge of Tabernacle, who, in the context of a confined area, had been able to do quite a lot in terms of medicinal plants, in terms of her herbs and things like that, and we had encouraged her participation as a model for others to emulate,” said Minister Harris. “Of course she has since been able to expand beyond her own confines, to an adjoining lot and to do some interesting work there, some of them irrigated, and we commend them.”
Equally as important as the growth of the huge pumpkin celebrated, is the ministry’s optimism that the message is catching on, with people embracing the ministry’s vision for food sustainability and security and rising to the occasion of empowering themselves. Minister Harris says this family is moving in the right direction.
“In the context of the report that we have had, this is a case of a family who is doing the right thing, moving in the right direction, and we hope that this find will encourage others in a similar pathway, said Dr. Harris.”
The Minister added that nationally, as the country produces more, it needs the support of all sectors. Hotels and restaurants as well need to support and promote a ‘buy local’ mentality. He also said it is always comforting to know exactly how the foods used in the country are produced.
Being the producer in an appropriate mixed variety garden or farm situation can enable the producing family, and by extension the country to ultimately live more healthily.
“A person with an appropriate mixed farm can derive enough vegetables to cut out perhaps the flour, the rice and the macaroni, because we could find much more natural and healthy substitutes, not only in your yard if you have the backyard garden, perhaps by extending it in the hills and the mountains, and other ranges of the community,” said Minister Harris.
The ministry of Agriculture sees this as a ‘win win’ project and a good promotion for health and wellness and good community relationships.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Higher Yield in 2012
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AN increase in yield of a number of locally-produced vegetables is expected to take place this month, in comparison with last month’s output.
According to information disseminated by the Ministry of Agriculture, a total of 85 340 pounds of tomatoes, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cabbage and watermelons were harvested and that figure is expected to increase by approximately 37 percent.
This spells good news for the Federation as it works towards creating a healthier society. And according to a Ministry of Agriculture-issued please release, “Agriculture officials expressed satisfaction with the forecast and commended the farming community for its contribution to the country’s food security and nutrition needs and foreign exchange savings.”
In December 2011, 17 450 pounds of tomatoes were harvested and that figure is expected to rise to 20 740 pounds. The sweet potato yield for December 2011 was 37 760 pounds and an increase of 5 340 is expected.
A 13 350 increase in the production of pumpkins is expected during this month with a 7 900-pound yield being recorded last month.
Cabbage production stood at 6 710 pounds in December and a 580-pound increase is expected this month. Should the projected yield of watermelons be met or surpassed, an at least 16 500-pound yield would be recorded. December saw the production of 7 500 pounds of watermelons.
Not all crops are expected to surpass last month’s production level however, with a decrease of 100 pounds projected for the sweet pepper crop. It is expected to yield 7 920.
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2Wednesday, 21 December 2011
FAO: Create environment for breadfruit, breadnut industry to thrive
By Andre Huie
Basseterre, St. Kitts: The enabling environment must be created for a breadfruit and breadnut industry to thrive in St. Kitts and Nevis. That was the view stressed by officials from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in a recent workshop held in St. Kitts to discuss strategies of developing a breadfruit and breadnut industry.
Heiko Bamman, Enterprise Development office of the FAO in Rome, speaking at the recent breadfruit and breadnut industry workshop at the Ocean Terrace Inn, stressed that the importance of making the industry profitable and to grow income potentials. Meanwhile, Agro-industries officer of the FAO, Mr. Joseph Mpagalile spoke to participants on marketing their breadfruit and breadnut products including discussing the constraints and challenges.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Food Security Top Priority
Written by Loshaun DixonPosted On: Thursday, 15 December 2011Last Updated: Thursday, 15 December 2011
Basseterre, St. Kitts-The achievement of food security in St. Kitts & Nevis is an important policy of the government, said The Prime Minister of the twin island nation, Dr. Denzil Douglas, during the recent presentation of the Federal Budget.
Dr. Douglas said “The importance of achieving this goal is reinforced by the growing uncertainty in the global food market, which is characterized by successive episodes of natural disasters in the food producing regions of the world; increasing demands from expanding economies; increased use of biofuel technology and the associated upward pressure on prices.”
Dr. Douglas outlined that it was just in October 2011, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that thirty-two (32) countries around the world will be in need of assistance, as a result of crop failures, natural disasters and high domestic food prices. “However, I can confidently say to this Honourable House that we will not be among the countries in need of such assistance,” Dr. Douglas said.
“Since the closure of the Sugar Industry in 2005, my Government has made agriculture a priority in the development agenda, by identifying the sector as one of the pillars of transformation, which would not only ensure food security, but also facilitate employment and revenue generation. Considerable investment has been made to facilitate the expansion of the sector, through increased integration of new farming techniques and technologies and the creation of linkages with other sectors in order to reduce cost and maximize benefits. During 2012 we intend to build on these efforts by emphasizing small and commercial scale farming, infrastructure, appropriate technology and training,” Douglas added.
He continued, “Small-scale and commercial farming have both been used as a means of expanding the sector as we strive to meet domestic demand and capitalize on export opportunities. During 2010, three (3) farmers were identified for the establishment of commercial farms which involve the cultivation of fifty (50) acres each. We have also encouraged group-farming or the cluster farm model which was initiated under the Agricultural Training Employment Programme. This programme targets former sugar workers who are interested in making a transition from the Sugar Industry to non-sugar agriculture. I am pleased to report that this initiative has been successful, facilitating the establishment of four group farms in the areas of Sir Gilles, Belmont, West Farm and Mansion. We are also focusing on supporting the development of niche markets in the agro-processing sub-sector as this area provides a unique opportunity to develop an additional form of income generation, particularly for women, a means of reducing wastage and a building block for small business development. The Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) has collaborated with the Department of Cooperatives to provide training, equipment and product development support in this area. Further capacity building will be sought in order to facilitate quality assurance and sustainability.”
Prime Minister Douglas also said the livestock sub-sector is facing challenges such as praedial larceny, high mortality, the high cost of feed and poor husbandry practices. These problems resulted in a 3.8% decline in output in 2010. Several initiatives have been implemented and will continue into 2012 to reverse this outcome. They include the growing, harvesting and storage of forage for use during the dry season as part of a strategy to deal with the cost of imported feed which has caused some livestock farmers to cease production as profit margins continued to narrow.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Written by MiyVue.com Staff WriterPosted On: Wednesday, 07 December 2011
(File Photo)
While in the twin-island republic, Dr. Harris, who is also the Minister responsible for Agriculture in St. Kitts, held bilateral talks with his counterpart, Vasant Bharath, Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago.
Harris, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of CARDI was in the sister CARICOM State to fulfill a series of engagements on behalf of CARDI and his home government.
In addition to meeting with Senator Vasant Bharath, he also was engaged in discussions with CARDI’s Executive Director, Dr Arlington Chesney, to discuss the financial situation of the premier agricultural research entity and to explore ways in which the government of Trinidad and Tobago can offer a financial respite.
The meeting was described as productive. Senator Bharat was supported in this meeting by Mrs. Edwina Leacock, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Food Production of Trinidad and Tobago and Yolande Agard Simmonds, Director of Communications in the Ministry of Food Production.
Dr Harris was featured speaker at an Open Day event organized by CARDI under the theme “Improving Lives Through Agriculture Research”.
The Open Day ceremony featured Dr Janet Lawrence, CARDI’s Representative, Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Oliver Aqui, President of Trinidad and Tobago Greenhouse Operators Association, Stephanie Elder-Alexander, Deputy Permanent Secretary, and the Vote of Thanks was given by Alexander Benn, National Coordinator of CFC Projects.
The programme also offered tours of exhibition and field activities.
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