Government is sowing new seeds of hope into agriculture with a goal of reaping future benefits while fixing some of the systemic challenges affecting the sector.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Dr Shantal Munro-Knight outlined some of the projects yesterday during a Breakfast Colloquium held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Two Mile Hill, St Michael.
Following the establishment earlier this year of the Antipraedial Larceny Task Force, in a joint effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Barbados Police Service, she announced an interagency pilot to address praedial larceny and the issue of monkeys destroying crops.
“That’s practical delivery and important. It’s one of those systemic challenges. I can’t tell farmers and households to come and produce more, grow more of your kitchen garden, and then they tell me every time they grow something, the monkey comes.
“So I’ll be able to address that, and I’ve given everyone some very specific timelines and asked them to apply their solutions based on a specific metric that is going to be deliverable,” she said.
The minister said bringing younger farmers into the sector was another goal, and she is hoping the campaign sparks wider interest among the youth.
Munro-Knight said while youth interest in the sector was high, more opportunities were needed for progress.
“I’ve committed to making sure that the ministry, all of those students from SJPI (Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology) and BCC (Barbados Community College) that want to participate will be given an opportunity to do so over the summer.
“[There will be] an intensive internship programme in the ministry itself through all of the ministry’s departments and agencies. But also as well, we’ve partnered with a number of other regional international partners to provide exposure not only for students, but also some of our farmers to see agriculture operate in different ways and at scale.
“We have young people, every single year, who are doing courses at BCC, SJPI, University of the West Indies. Young people are interested in agriculture. It’s a myth that they’re not. But what is lacking is the strategic pathway for how we provide opportunities as well for them,” she said.
Another point of focus was the push for large-scale investment in farming, with discussions ongoing with key markets on strategic crop escalation programmes. These will identify crops available locally and for export, Munro-Knight said.
“We are in the design phase . . . of the export packhouse. And once that is done, within the next three weeks, over the next three months, you will see that export packhouse actually in operation.
“Within the next three months, I want to be able to have a detailed plan for what we’re going to be doing on the food terminal as well,” she added. ( JRN)
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