Marriaqua farmers participate in agriculture consultation
Over 100 farmers in the Marriaqua Valley attended a consultation hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture on December 14.
In attendance were the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Saboto Caesar, the Minister of Health and Parliamentary Representative, Hon. St. Clair Jimmy Prince, Chief Agriculture Officer Renato Gumbs, Head of Extension Marcus Richards, Senior Agriculture Officer Donawa Jackson, and other members of the Extension and Advisory Services staff of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Minister of Agriculture explained that this was part of the Ministry’s drive to increase production in 2023 and to bridge the gap between the technicians in the Ministry and the farmers who they serve.
Hon. Saboto Caesar commended the farmers for their hard work and dedication in 2022 and expounded on the opportunities to export dasheen, reduce the food import bill, and produce for the hospitality industry while reducing the cost of food in 2023.
The Parliamentary Representative for the Constituency reminded the farmers of the days when Marriaqua had almost 10 functioning cooperatives and encouraged the return of the cooperatives’ production platform.
The technical staff was advised of the re-commitment to service and was given high praise for their efforts to expand dasheen production.
Several farmers were presented with exotic vegetable seeds as a part of the ministry’s diversification efforts. The seeds were donated by West Coast Seeds of Canada through the joint efforts of Consul General Fitz Huggins and Global Medic.
The La Croix Food Terminal Market purchased over $500,000 worth of produce in 2022 for export and local redistribution.
The Ministry also addressed the budgeted estimates of revenue and expenditure for the year 2023 as it relates to agriculture.
