CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – AN official in the Ministry of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administrationhas charged that in order for food systems to be sustained within the Federation, the populace must engender the habit of “growing more of what we eat and eating more of what we grow”.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Eric Evelyn made comments to that effect to this publication on the occasion of World Food Day, which is observed annually on October 16.
This year’s observance carries the theme “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”.
Evelyn complained that in a country where there is “always opportunity to grow more food…I don’t think we are growing enough”. He said the “apparent expansion” of the tourism product on both islands proposes one such opportunity. However, “I still don’t believe that we are satisfying the demand for the tourism sector in particular…
“We need – of course – to satisfy the demand for the local demand for our local people and then we need to satisfy the demand for the tourists who are coming in as well”.
Speaking specifically to farmers, Evelyn is encouraging them to place greater concentration on the strategic aspect of their production, which he suggested would aid in sustaining the Federation’s food systems.
“I would encourage farmers to be very focussed in terms of their planning because, a lot of the times, we have quite a lot of product on the market and there are certain times when we do not have enough. So we are finding the problem where the production is there but it is not sustained and it is not consistent enough. In looking forward, we would like farmers to be more consistent in their production.
“And in keeping with the theme for World Food Day for 2013, we would also like to encourage our farmers to grow food in very sustainable way and the systems in which they produce the food in terms of production, the marketing, the storage, the handling, the transport of all of these products, should be done in a healthy way so at least the health of the consumers are not compromised.”
Evelyn assured that the Department of Agriculture is always at the forefront in assisting farmers in executing their role in sustainability.
He explained that one form of assistance is the establishing of a cadre of well-trained officers who are more than willing to share their technical knowhow with the farmers.
“We just want the farmers to be open and willing to receive the information. Apart from that, of course, we do offer some concessions to farmers…and we want them to take advantage of those concessions. But I think the most important thing is that our extension staff is very well-trained and they can provide a lot of technical assistance.”
As part of the observance of World Food Day, Evelyn informed that a number of activities would be held in Nevis including a Special Food Sale in the heart of Charlestown on Friday (Oct. 18).
