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Minister of Agriculture on Nevis Hon Robelto Hector meets with agriculture students at Prospect.
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CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (SEPTEMBER 14, 2007) -- Minister of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administration Hon. Robelto Hector appealed to agriculture students from two of the islands secondary schools to take advantage of the varied professions offered in the field of Agriculture. He made the call on Thursday September 13, 2007, at the start of a four-day workshop on Budding and Grafting at Prospect.
The workshop which was a collaborative effort of the Department of Agriculture and the Schools Agricultural Programme has been facilitated by Food and Agriculture Organisation sponsored Cuban Fruit Tree Specialist, Mr. Pedrosa Benigno. It commenced on September 13 -14 and will continue on September 20-21.
“There are a lot of opportunities in agriculture and it is one of the easiest fields for you to have a scholarship in. There is the East Caribbean Institute for Agriculture and Forestry in Trinidad where you can also move forward to do a degree in this area. There is also the Guyana School of Agriculture and the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. We have a great relationship with the University and a number of students who have moved into the profession have gone to that university and they have done well.
“I want you not to think only of what skill you would learn today budding and grafting but I want you to start to prepare yourself for the profession… We are not in agriculture on this island for fun. The nation that has food security or is attempting in some way to produce food for its people is a secured nation. As students use this opportunity to focus and I want you all to take the workshop serious, this is not a ‘lime’,” he said.
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A section of students at the Budding and Grafting Workshop at Prospect.
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The Agriculture Minister also told the students that the workshop was a testimony of the commitment and collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Schools Agriculture Programme.
Meantime, Director of Agriculture Dr. Kelvin Daly regarded the workshop as a small step in the right direction which had future benefits for Nevis. He reassured the students that if they became farmers there was nothing wrong with the profession but that the Department was in the process of moving farming into a technological age where proper science was used.
He referred to a number of upcoming projects which included the construction of an Agro processing plant and an operational greenhouse at the Prospect Agricultural Station.
“By next year summer there will be an operational green house where we would not have to be working land. We will have a green house where persons can grow crops for extended periods of time and so we are moving in that direction simply because we are trying to attract a younger group of persons into the profession. You are more apt to want to be some place in air condition, dress up nice and come to work, nobody want to get their hands dirty too much.
“But we are moving in a direction where we are trying to attract young farmers into the profession so that you can feel proud to say I am a farmer. So if you have any inclination or need any more information about professions that are being offered in agriculture there is a whole lot, it is not just getting out there and planting stuff,” he said.
Also in 2008 Dr Daly said plans were also afoot for the establishment of a tissue culture and soil testing facility. He told the participants that once they had any aptitude in science then the soil and tissue testing lab would be suitable area of agriculture for most of them.
~~Adz:Left~~Facilitator Mr. Benigno explained that the workshop would teach the participants common preparation techniques used in fruit trees to obtain new plants with the purity of the mother plant which was impossible to obtain from preparation by seeds.
“To reach success in this technique it is necessary to establish a well conditioned nursery to learn the budding and grafting types and practise them to gain skill in the ..to make a graft or bud.
“It is also very important to make correct management of all the activities involved in the nursery taking into account that the fruit tree is a living being that needs care seven days a week and sometimes we forget it and the plant suffer. These techniques are not difficult to learn,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Pearlivan Wilkin told the students that the area of budding and grafting offered an opportunity to earn money and they should take advantage of it. He also urged them to take advantage of the summer attachments available at the Department which offered them an opportunity to learn about agriculture and a weekly stipend of $150.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Agro forestry Officer at the Department of Agriculture Mr. Floyd Liburd.
