Intensive farming considered SKN’s best response to effects of global crisis

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE many attempts have been made by the federal government to stimulate the economy in the wake of the ongoing global economic and financial crisis, Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan His Excellency Rong Chuan Wu has maintained that “going back to the land” is still a viable plan to minimise the local impact.

Wu told SKNVibes that his Embassy is committed to intensive farming to lessen the negative effects on the economy.
“One of the ideas for our collective farm is to introduce intensive farming in this country because the few professional farmers tend to acquire large quantities of land from the government, usually 40-50 acres, to practise scattered farming. This means they plant seeds and let them grow randomly but they only harvest 30 % of the seeds planted. 

“However, using intensive farming yields about 90% of the seeds planted while using less than 10 % of land used in scattered farming. We have started this with cantaloupe, peanuts and sweet potatoes in St. Kitts and pineapples and guavas in Nevis. This is just a minor case for our intensive farming, a system that can apply modern technologies for planting, pesticide, labelling, irrigation and fertilizer management and still be 10 times as productive as scattered farming.”

Ambassador Wu noted that although technical problems relating to agricultural infrastructure and marketing mechanism exist, it is hoped that once the fruits are accepted by the local market then the nation may be a step closer toward self-sustenance.
Wu further stated that after the necessary agricultural and marketing mechanisms are put in place, the Embassy would encourage young farmers to rent the infrastructure in order to turn a profit for themselves.

“We are encouraging high school graduates who have a sincere interest in agriculture to seek employment in this area. In fact, we will urge the Foundation for National Development (FND) to give more loans to those potential farmers and we are also going to ask our International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) to make more funds available in this regard. We are relying on St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA) along with other private sector companies to assist in marketing these agricultural products.

“This is just a locomotive to establish a dedicated farming system for individuals interested in agriculture to allow other farmers to follow suit. We want to shoulder the responsibility for the infrastructure as individual farmers may not have the financial resources to establish irrigation resources or to prepare the land. That is why our mission is going to establish the necessary facilities.

“This would definitely reduce our reliance on imports. It is a small step but a significant one that will allow us to not only supply our local markets but also export to neighbouring islands. This would also provide employment for many young farmers and would encourage other farmers to practise similar farming techniques.”

Wu added that the partnership with the relevant government ministries and with private sector entities would be critical to ensure that the results of intensive agriculture can be readily realized in response to the crisis.  

All interested farmers are asked to contact the Taiwanese Embassy for more information on how they can be part of the intensive farming programme.