by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Local farmers and extension officers in Nevis received valuable insights and knowledge about sustainable agricultural practices during a four-week-long training session.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation spearheaded the initiative. Mr. McLevon “Mackie” Tross facilitated the sessions, which focused on the topic “Addressing Water, Energy, Food Nexus on St. Kitts and Nevis.”
St. Kitts – Nevis National Project Coordinator for the Food and Agriculture Organisation – Mr. Conrad Kelly, said the purpose of the training was to equip farmers and extension officers with the necessary skills and equipment needed to improve their farming capabilities.
“The Food and Agricultural Organisation is planning to invest some inputs into your farms; solar-powered drip irrigation systems, water storage, water harvesting and some additional tools to enable you to utilise this equipment more efficiently. The overall purpose of this is to better equip the farmers, Nevis and St.Kitts, to utilise water. That’s why a good chunk of the training was to have a better understanding of water, water management, using water more efficiently, harvesting water, storing water and the, most important thing, irrigating the crops efficiently. So this is to improve what you are doing on the farm now where possible, to generally, if you do these things, your yield should go up, your understanding of dealing with the challenges that comes from growing crops is going to improve, such that you can do it better.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Huey Sargeant, expressed gratitude to the FAO for initiating the project. He said the sessions were timely as the Federation seeks to reduce the food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
During a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and the FAO, 12 individuals received certificates of participation.
