Agriculture Week to conclude with Farmers and Fishers Gala

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE annual Farmers and Fishers Awards Ceremony will be held today at the Basseterre Abattoir in Lime Kiln and marks the end of the Federation’s Week of Agriculture, an annual event that aims to heighten awareness of the various issues associated with the agriculture industry.

The programme will include speeches and the distribution of EC$60 000 towards farmers for being excellent in the areas of food production, livestock care and fishing. Prizes will also be awarded to those who have excelled in backyard farming.

This year’s Agriculture Week kicked off with a National Health Walk on Saturday, October 11, when scores of residents walked from the Basseterre Fire Station to the last roundabout in Frigate Bay and a religious service at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Lodge on the following day.

On Monday, October 13, a donation of garden tools was given to the Dieppe Bay Primary School and fruit trees were planted on the school’s farm. Agriculture Ministry workers also visited the island’s schools to discuss this year’s theme - “World Food Security: The Challenges of Climate Change and Bio energy”.

Agriculture Minister, the Hon. Cedric Liburd, was impressed upon his visits to the schools, stating that the students exhibited the necessary drive and interest in farming and that a structure should be implemented whereby youth could have opportunities to farm from the primary school level.~~Adz:Right~~

“We have to change our methods so that new technology can be introduced, so that young people will take the challenge of using the land and get into farming,” said Liburd.

“We must utilise the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to help our farmers. They need seed capital, fencing for their areas or the ability to purchase a little tractor here or there.

But although this small window exists, the conditions for loans are really prohibitive, so farmers don’t take advantage of them. CDB must review their policies and I believe that they can then come up with some innovative ways to help,” the Minister added.

Liburd pointed to the contract between the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino and the Farmers’ Association as a sign that things are going in the right direction, and wished farmers continued success in their endeavours.