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Posted: Monday 13 November, 2017 at 9:53 AM

Farmers advised on new ways to mitigate against hurricane losses

By: Staff Reporter, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN an effort to ensure food security during the hurricane season, the Ministry of Agriculture is advising farmers to plant more and store their crops during the dry season as opposed to the wet season when the weather cycle changes.

     

    In a recent interview with SKNVibes, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Allistair Edwards explained that for many years the Ministry has been advocating that farmers should concentrate on planting abundantly during the dry season in order to mitigate against the rainy period.

    According to Edwards, the current November/December period is known as the late rainy season, while January/February and May/June are the drier seasons during which formers’ preparation and planting should be in “high production” mode.
     
    Questioned on what the Ministry is doing to ensure the Federation is better prepared for hurricanes and that food is secured, as countries continue to struggle for food following the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Permanent Secretary stressed that they have and would continue to “beseech upon farmers to ensure that when the second season comes they would only be planting to mitigate against hurricanes”.

    It means that famers would plant to go under, he said, “so you would concentrate on commodities that are grown under the soil and not too much on the outside, since anything that is on the outside, like tomatoes and cabbages, will disappear”.

    Like many OECS countries, St. Kitts and Nevis is facing a shortage of produce since the passage of the two storms.

    Vendors are reporting shortage of several produce, while certain items are no longer seen on the shelves in a number of supermarkets.

    That comes as the Federation’s leading supplier of fresh produce – Dominica – is still recovering from the damage it sustained from Hurricane Maria in September.

    Just recently the Director of Agriculture, Melvin James, confirmed to SKNVibes that there is a shortage of certain produce on the island, and that the situation is expected to be remedied by early 2018. 

    SKNVibes understands that this is despite boats with fresh produce travelling out of the Windward Islands to the Federation.

    Edwards pointed out that they are advocating that farmers plant the heavier items, such as pumpkins and water melons, during the rainy period as they are not likely to be washed away during that time.

    “It is a pattern and it is what you call the hurricane season. Once you have the hurricane season coming you have to go under, and that is what we are advocating...and it has been working for a number of years.

    “It is not just the fact that you wouldn’t be able to get things like tomatoes during the latter part of the year, because people trying to mitigate their losses.”

    The sector sustained over $10M in losses, while the Government recently release $300,000 to jump start the sector.
     
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