BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation has again exceeded initial expectations with regards to agricultural yields from 2008 as the nation continues to counter challenges of food security during difficult economic times.
According to Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Co-operatives Hon. Cedric Liburd, the 2008 production period was “commendable”, noting the abundance of high-quality local produce was very noticeable. Liburd said the progress witnessed in this sector strengthens his government’s position that “we can indeed feed our people and also supply our hotels and restaurants throughout St. Kitts-Nevis”.
“We realised increases of 115 percent increase (378 200 pounds) for carrots, 131 percent increase for onions, 190 percent increase (525 800 pounds) for white potato, 16 percent in pineapple and 20 percent in yams. We are having some challenges with sweet potato diseases; nevertheless, the production increased from 432 400 to 433 400 pounds,” Liburd informed at the Agriculture Open Day yesterday (Apr. 30).
The Minister further stated that information received from the Department of Agriculture shows that for the production period between January and March 2009, an increase was recorded for onions (38%), carrots (9%), pumpkins (15%), sweet peppers (8%) and yam (3%) when compared with the same period last year.
During the first quarter, according to Liburd, the Department was able to meet the domestic demands for tomato, carrot and cabbage. He added that there has been a projection that during the second quarter there would be no importation of onion, carrot and white potato.
“The estimated yield from the current acreage under production is 264 000 pounds and with an estimated monthly demand of 45 000 pounds, local onions will dominate the market for approximately six months. The white potato crop is expected to yield 360 000 pounds supplying the local market for about three and a half months where the estimated monthly demand is 100 000 pounds,” Liburd added.
There was also a significant increase in livestock meat over the 2008 agricultural period. Estimated percentage increases indicate that beef increased by 63 percent, mutton by 43.75 percent and goat meat by 47.8 percent. Only pork production deviated from the general increase, showing a 5.1 percent drop.
“Increases in the other species could be attributed to the removal of animals from the Southeast peninsular, while the decrease in pork is believed to be influenced by the high cost of concentrate fees,” Liburd explained.
Liburd informed that under his leadership and with the support from his government, farmers would be allocated more lands for the expansion of local agriculture. He thanked all agricultural practitioners and charged them to maintain the high standard of production in order to ensure the nation’s food security.
“I would hope that the increases and projections will also be reflected in the pockets of the farmers,” he said.
