HLSCC Hosts Vegetable Production Workshop

In 1998, the BVI imported more than $36M worth of food, $10.3M worth of which was spent on vegetables alone, according to statistics from the Development Planning Unit. This was highlighted during the opening of a three-day Vegetable Production Workshop held at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College from the 11th-13th April. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a large sum of money going out of the territory," Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour Mr. Donald Lettsome said. "The Ministry's aim is to keep as much as possible, at least of the $10.3M spent on vegetables, circulating back into our economy and among farmers." He noted that there is considerable doubt as to whether the BVI can become self sufficient in agriculture, but said there is no doubt as to whether we can reduce our imports, especially in the crops which can be grown successfully in the territory.

This was the second in a series of workshops to be held at the College; the first was conducted last October. The Ministry official referred to the secondment of Mr. Austin Percival, Chief Agricultural Officer, to the College, where he is spearheading the National Agriculture Project. "This is an example of the Ministry's commitment to the development of agriculture in the territory." Mr. Lettsome said this project was developed with some specific objectives and goals, based on a firm commitment of government to the development of agriculture in a sustainable manner.

He expressed disappointment at the poor turnout of farmers on the opening day and hoped that the attendance would pick up during the remaining days. He said he hoped that the new principles and techniques learned during the three days of this workshop would prepare farmers to use their skills to develop agriculture to a point where they can make a meaningful contribution to the BVI's economic growth. In his Chairman's remarks, Mr. Percival stated that vegetables, especially fresh vegetables, are mainly important from a health point of view. He said after this workshop, it is hoped that farmers would produce more vegetables for home use and for sale at supermarkets. HLSCC Vice President Dr. Michael O'Neal told participants that as a part of the mandate that established the College under the Act of 1990, the institution is mandated to address the area of agricultural education. "Over the years, during the course of our ten years of existence, the institution has attempted to do this in small ways," he noted. He said the College has collaborated very closely with the Department of Agriculture and the Ministry, in addressing, where possible, the felt needs of the farming community.

A series of short workshops have been organized over the years. More recently, a curriculum of study of agriculture has been preliminarily conceptualised at the College at a number of levels, from the Certificate of Achievement, the Certificate of Higher Education and the Associate Degree. "But it was felt that rather than waiting to be able to put all these things fully in place, we would begin by offering a series of shorter workshops, though longer in duration and more in depth than the previous offerings," Dr. O'Neal revealed. Throughout the workshop, the farmers examined the importance of vegetables, choice of crop and variety, land preparation, seedling production and planting, care of plants, garden planning, farming constraints, recognizing and utilizing available resources, container gardening, the market potential for fresh vegetables and marketing in general.

They also went on a field tour of the College's demonstration plot. The project is a collaborative effort between the HLSCC, the Ministry, the Department of Agriculture, the University of the West Indies, CARDI and the farmers. Head of the Department of Food Production at the University of the West Indies Dr. Richard Brathwaite was also involved in the first workshop last year on fruit production. Associate Vice President of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College said the HLSCC is pleased to do its part in the development of agriculture in the territory of the Virgin Islands. "We realize that this is a work that cannot be done by one individual or by just a few, but it calls for the collective effort of all of us," he stated. Dr. Davies said coming out of the last workshop, it was brought to their attention, the need to reach out to more individuals and thus the two sessions during the three days.