Ministry of Agriculture undertakes white Potato Study Tour to Dominica
A team of four officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, representing the Extension and Advisory Services and Research and Development Divisions, conducted a study tour from December 09 to 13, 2024.
The study tour aimed to achieve two primary objectives:
I. To offer a chance for technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to gain insights from the experiences of stakeholders involved in the white potato supply chain in Dominica.
II. To enable the Ministry of Agriculture to create a program focused on white potato production, marketing, and research as a component of a broader strategy for import substitution and in alignment with the CARICOM 25 by 2025 initiative.
Throughout that week, the officers engaged in discussions with stakeholders from Dominica’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy; white potato farmers and their organisations; entities involved in the marketing of local white potatoes and the provision of inputs for the crop; financial institutions; and technical agencies focused on white potato research and development.
The team participated in field visits and demonstrations focused on land preparation, planting, and fertilising the crop.
They had the opportunity to engage with white potato farmers directly in the field.
Throughout the week, the team successfully procured and shipped white potato planting material for the establishment of trial plots upon their return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The execution of the White Potato Study Tour was a joint initiative that brought together the Ministries of Agriculture from Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, along with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) through its representatives in both nations.
The ministry’s team was also accompanied by a technical specialist from St. Vincent and the Grenadines representing IICA.