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| Director of Agriculture Mr Samuel Powell | |
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CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (March 31, 2006) -- Director of Agriculture on Nevis Mr Samuel Powell said that the theme chosen for the 2006 Agriculture Open Day was no coincidence. "Agribusiness - The Way to go" he said, highlighted the pathway which Nevis should travel, to ensure that agriculture became more meaningful and sustainable.
While delivering welcome remarks at the start of the 12th annual agriculture Open Day, hosted by the Ministry and Department of Agriculture at the Villa in Charlestown on Thursday March 30, 2006, he noted that while much has been achieved in agriculture production over the years, there was an urgent need to produce even more food and this year's Open Day served to highlight several areas for improvement and increased production.
"We have to support our agriculture producers in Nevis, we have to produce for available markets. No longer can we produce and hope to get the products sold. We have to produce for specific markets in the quantity and the quality that is required.
"Based on global trends we have to establish niche markets and become more competitive if we are to survive. If agriculture becomes
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| Students and onlookers at the Department of Agricultures booth. |
under threat, so too will all our lives. The time for agriculture is now so let us continue to make a positive mark now. Let us position ourselves to take advantage of the emerging opportunities now, now is the time," Mr Powell said.
He explained that agribusiness, which encompassed a multitude of activities, was the way forward and therefore, farmers who provided food also provided a foundation for a complicated series of actions.
According to the Director, a number of farmers had approached government for larger plots of land to consolidate their activities while others had fine tuned their operations and adopted a better management approach making their businesses more efficient.
Mr Powell acknowledged the changes taking place in the agricultural landscape particularly the globalisation of agriculture, which he noted had also impacted Nevis.
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| Students take keen interest in fish trap making demonstration |
However, he said that the ability of key agribusiness players to respond to those changes would depend on their creativity, knowledge and their ability to become better managers, farmers and entrepreneurs.
"Improving competitiveness really, is a key to success. We have to become more competitive if we are to survive. Agriculture is more than farming it is a business that touches the lives of people everywhere. We have not reached the mountaintop yet in terms of entrepreneurial development but we are still climbing and with God's help we will continue to move higher and higher," Mr Powell said.
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| Locally made wines on sale |
