BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ADULTS and children off all ages yesterday (Apr. 25) flocked to the La Guerite agricultural site as produce of all varieties were on display and for sale at the 2013 Agriculture Open Day.
Launched under the theme: "Embrace the change, face the challenge and maximise the opportunity", the Agriculture Open Day saw hundreds of students, teachers and member of the public visiting the grounds to view and purchase fruits, vegetables, floral arrangements, livestock and fishes that were on display by a number of agricultural institutions across St. Kitts.
Present at the brief ceremony to officially launch the Open Day were Governor General His Excellency Sir Edmund Lawrence, LIME's General Manger David Lake and Tourism Minister Hon. Richard Skerritt.
Speaking at the ceremony, Director of Agriculture Thomas Jackson said the landscape of the trade has been transformed from a sector that was once dominated by sugar cane to one where crop and livestock farmers are now leading.
He said the establishment of the Capisterre Farm which is approximately 130 acres is a testimony of such change.
He went on to speak of some of the progress the Agriculture Resource Management has made since the change from sugar, including the construction of shade houses and dams, which he said played an integral role in the development of farms in St. Kitts.
Jackson however noted that farmers are still plagued with a number of difficulties that must be tackled, including destruction of crops by monkeys, the emergence of new pests and diseases which could wipe out a crop or livestock population within days.
He further noted that some challenges are natural, such as unpredictable weather patterns.
Also speaking at the ceremony was the Minister with responsibility for Agriculture Sen. Hon. Nigel Carty, who said that investing in agriculture means a lot to the Federation and that the Ministry has reacted excitedly to the change.
He also shed light on some of the initiatives the Agriculture Department is expected to embark on in an effort to further improve the sector.
"A number of initiatives are being implemented and the Ministry will continue to explore and bring on stream others in the very near future. These will facilitate a preparedness that will help us to face the challenge and to maximise the opportunities of abundance, enhance agricultural practise and higher yield in agricultural output," Carty enunciated.
He said one would observe a number of onsite changes which are as a result of the Department's intention to bring about improvement.
"You will witness an increased interest in local rabbit and poultry production to boost our protein requirement. You'll witness the recent increase in the emergence of small scale egg production."
The Agriculture Minister also spoke of the dam, which he said the landscape is ready for, so as to support an all-year-round agriculture production "rather than the traditional rain set practise as had happened in the past".
Carty said that the Ministry is seeing an increase interest among primary and high school and even college students and that seasoned farmers are now more willing to try new strategies.
He revealed that sometime during the Open Day, the Department would have the first calf in the Federation which was conceived locally by artificial insemination done sometime last year.
He also disclosed his Ministry's intent to implement a strategy "to upgrade gene pool in both the cattle and pig population here in St. Kitts and Nevis".
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