Vocational students learn about sweet potato diversity
By Ryan Hass
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Students learn about different varieties of sweet potatoes
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-FIFTY students from the Basseterre and Sandy Point High School vocational programs and a number of farmers were given a special tour of the Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan Technical Mission’s Needsmust Farm yesterday (July 15) in an effort to demonstrate the dynamic financial potential of sweet potatoes and farming in general.
According to Ashton Stanley, Director of the Department of Agriculture, “the sweet potato is a crop that has been identified by the Department of Agriculture for major national development”.
Dr. Kent-fent Chen, Chief of the Taiwanese Technical Mission stated that studies have indicated there is a large demand for sweet potatoes in St. Kitts and Nevis that is going unfulfilled.
“Department of Agriculture research shows that the domestic demand for sweet potatoes is about 600 tons per year. In 2007, sweet potato production for St. Kitts and Nevis was around 192 tons,” Chen detailed.
While on their tour of the farm, students and farmers were introduced to five different varieties of sweet potatoes, two that are currently being grown in St. Kitts and three that are being researched by the Taiwanese.
Stanley discussed the different characteristics of the potatoes, including a red-skin, white-flesh variety that he indicated had “a lot of market potential” and could become a “staple” of the Kittitian diet.
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(From left to right) Ashton Stanley, Hon. Cedric Liburd and His Excellency Rong-chuan Wu
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The Ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis from the ROC Taiwan, His Excellency Rong-chuan Wu emphasized the earning potential agriculture has, especially with the current world food crisis.
“Last week the Taiwanese Newsweek published a cover story saying that fifteen youngsters in the field of technology came back to the land and formed a commercial farm. It was reported that they ran it so successfully that they earned double of what they had been making in high technology.
“This is the right time for you to come back to the land as well,” Wu said as he addressed the students.
St. Kitts Minister with responsibility for Agriculture, Hon. Cedric Liburd echoed these sentiments when he said, “this is your time farmers, and even you school children, to become millionaires out of farming. St. Kitts and Nevis has the potential to be the food basket, not just for our nation alone, but for the entire Organization of Easter Caribbean States.”
In addition to their tour of the farm, the gathering was able to sample a variety of dishes featuring the sweet potato prepared by local restaurants.
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A patron samples sweet potato sushi
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The diverse and tasty dishes included savory selections like sweet potato croquettes, scalloped sweet potatoes and even a sweet potato sushi. Other preparations highlighted the natural sweetness of the vegetable, including sweet potato pie and a candied sweet potato ball that was similar in taste to sugar cakes.
SKNVibes.com spoke to Circus Grill chef Anita Somrah, who prepared a number of the dishes for sampling.
“This was the first time I have really cooked with it. Instead of using the Irish potato in some of the recipes we substituted the sweet potatoes and I think it tastes even better. The sweetness to them is very nice and they are moister than the Irish potatoes,” she said.
The taste, high nutritional value and agro-processing potential of the potatoes were highlighted as the reasons why students and farmers alike should see the vegetable as an investment opportunity.
As an added to bonus to the ceremony, the Department of Agriculture donated a papaya tree for planting in their yards to each of the students present and stated that each of the 500 houses being built by the National Housing Corporation will receive a similar fruit tree donation as they are completed. ~~Adz:Right~~
