22 Farmers Trained in Modern Agricultural Practices

As food security continues to be a major concern globally, crucial steps are being taken to ensure Saint Lucia’s agricultural sector is bolstered. Recently, 22 farmers graduated from a five-week training programme aimed at building capacity.

The comprehensive series of courses included Good Agricultural Practices, Pesticide Use and Safety, Post-harvest Technology, Cultivation Management, AI in Agro-technology, Marketing, Agro-composting, and Organic Pesticide Use.

The training programme was a collaboration between the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, under the second phase of the Enhancement of the Efficiency of Production-Supply Chain in the Fruit and Vegetable Sector Project, commonly known as the Seven Crops Project, which runs from 2022 to 2026.

At a special graduation ceremony was held last week, the graduates were praised for their unwavering dedication to the training programme and food production.

Daniel Lee, Chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Lucia, encouraged the
participants to use the new knowledge they have gained to make a more meaningful impact in the agricultural sector.

“Today’s certificate is more than just a piece of paper; it represents your commitment to growth, your investment in your future, and your readiness to apply what you have learned,” he told the participants. “We hope you will carry this knowledge back to your farms, your families, and neighbours, and become catalysts for positive change in your community.”

Lee said the Taiwan Technical Mission was especially pleased to introduce a new concept in this year’s training programme, namely artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture, which reflects the shared vision between Saint Lucia and Taiwan in advancing modern technology-enabled farming.

He thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for its continued partnership, the dedicated facilitators for their valuable contribution, and the team members who worked behind the scenes to make the programme successful.

Dr Randel Esnard, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, said the farmers’ training programme was taken up by the Seven Crops Project some years ago to offer training in good agricultural practices for farmers. The programme, he said, is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, given that the Seven Crops Project is one of the flagship projects run by the Ministry.

Dr Esnard said the island’s agricultural sector takes on greater importance presently, especially given the tariffs being imposed on imported goods from and exported to the United States by that country’s government.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders continue to look for solutions, as the cost of food items imported from the United States is likely to be affected. He added that the Ministry of Agriculture is also looking at bringing new technologies into the agricultural sector.

“At the Ministry of Agriculture, one of the things we are seeking to do is to build the capacity of our stakeholders and farmers, work with buyers such as Massy Stores, Saint Lucia Marketing Board, and hotels to ensure that we are able to feed ourselves,” Dr Esnard said.

He thanked the Taiwan Technical Mission for its unwavering support for Saint Lucia’s
agricultural sector, adding that the Ministry of Agriculture looks forward to stronger
collaborations in the future.

Dunstan Demille, Perishables Manager at Massy Stores Saint Lucia, assured the farmers that Massy Stores remains committed to supporting them. However, he urged farmers to strive to maintain high production standards so that their produce can qualify for purchasing. He said Massy Stores offers many attractive benefits to farmers, including paying within a decent timeframe and providing interest-free loans.

“From the introduction of the farmers registration programme, we decided to be part of it,”
Demille explained. “We were the first company to actually put an incentive to the programme by paying 22 cents extra. When you look at our supermarket shelves now, I’m sure you can see the transformation. We’re no longer where we started, but have made great strides.”

Demille noted that Massy Stores has always been and will continue to be a supporter of the local agricultural sector, adding that farmers play a crucial role in the supermarket chain’s business portfolio.

“At the end of the day, that segment of our business is very dependent on farmers investing their own money, growing a crop to the quality we expect, and selling that crop to us on a seven-day credit term,” he said. “It’s not a process we take for granted – we value our farmers and consider them as partners.”

One of the participants, Snaliah Mahal, said that by taking the training workshop, she looked forward to learning new concepts and getting an opportunity to gain new knowledge and network with like-minded individuals. Attending the training workshop, she said during her testimonial, has been quite a learning experience.

“Our facilitators were well versed in their areas of expertise and shared a wealth of knowledge with us,” Mahal said. “Learning new techniques and information which will help to improve soil, grow healthier crops, and manage our farms in a more sustainable way is essential in enhancing food security in Saint Lucia. I believe this is something that’s especially important for us here in a small island developing state like Saint Lucia in the face of climate change and the myriad uncertainties in the global economy.”

Mahal admitted that one of the most eye-opening pieces of data shared with participants during the training programme relates to the quantity of imports for certain agricultural produce into Saint Lucia.

“I think it left many of us surprised,” Mahal said. “We hear about it all the time, but to see the hard data in person, I think, got many of us thinking about how we all can help improve the situation. We can now apply what we’ve learned and share it with others in our communities. We hope that this training has given us not just more skills, but also hope for a stronger future in agriculture in Saint Lucia.”