(left to right) Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Cedric Liburd; St.Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and  Farmer, Earl Thomas during a visit to Thomas' five-acre Farm recently at Estridge, St. Kitts.

The workshop is geared towards increasing their knowledge of the management of agricultural irrigation technology and is being organised through a cooperative programme between the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Government of Italy, which is aimed at improving food security and safety in CARICOM/CARIFORUM countries.

St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the Caribbean nations that is benefiting from the FAO's Food Security programme and irrigation equipment has been acquired by several farmers through financing provided by the Italian Government.

Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Roger Clarke, who addressed the opening ceremony, emphasised that the cooperative programme sought to "strengthen the human and institutional capacity in agricultural and rural sectors for farm families, communities, national and regional organisations, to improve food security and promote healthy living among Caribbean peoples." 

The weeklong workshop would train regional irrigation technicians in improved water management techniques and facilitate regional networking on irrigation matters and will give specialists from the Caribbean the opportunity to participate in an agricultural irrigation management course run by certified instructors from the Irrigation Association of the United States, and receive training in the use of specialised equipment.

FAO Representative in Jamaica, Mr. Dunstan Campbell, told the workshop participants that food security and poverty alleviation, which were two key concerns of the FAO, were being addressed at the household and national levels, in countries where the Organisation was active.

"Water management as far as the FAO is concerned, is a major strategy towards achieving the objectives of food security and poverty alleviation,"

Tomatoes being grown by farmer Earl Thomas using the drip irrigation system. The equipment was financed through the Government of Italy financed United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO) Food Safety and Security Programme.

He noted, however, that the full potential of irrigation was not being achieved within Caribbean territories, "because in most of the cases &other best practices in agriculture are not involved with irrigation."

Mr. Campbell encouraged the participants in the workshop, even as they sought to increase their knowledge of irrigation techniques, to also look to "establish strategic alliances, so that the maximum benefit of irrigation can be achieved."