{"id":110006,"date":"2020-05-02T06:35:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T10:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=110006"},"modified":"2020-05-02T06:35:44","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T10:35:44","slug":"the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ministry of Agriculture Builds Momentum In Its COVID-19 Response To Food Nutrition And Security"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Ministry of Agriculture in response to<\/span><\/span> the COVID-19 Pandemic<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>has embarked on a widespread <\/span><\/span>land preparation<\/span><\/span> exercise<\/span><\/span> for farmers<\/span><\/span> in Antigua and Barbuda<\/span><\/span> to increase crop production.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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Agricultural <\/span><\/span>Assistant Three<\/span><\/span>, Mr<\/span><\/span>. Brent Georges who is spearheading this project<\/span><\/span>, explained<\/span><\/span> that<\/span><\/span> the<\/span><\/span>implementation<\/span><\/span> of this project<\/span><\/span> is being done <\/span><\/span>based on farmers registering their interest through their d<\/span><\/span>istrict officers, to have work done on their farm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cW<\/span><\/span>hat we have done is that we<\/span><\/span> have expe<\/span><\/span>dited the process where we have a list and b<\/span><\/span>ased on the farmers, we are plo<\/span><\/span>u<\/span><\/span>gh<\/span><\/span>ing accordingly, we have dedicated all of<\/span><\/span>our equipment to d<\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>ing land preparation for farmers so that farmers can plant the necessary <\/span><\/span>crops at this point in time,<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> Explained Georges.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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He<\/span><\/span> said that they chose to put Belvidere, the farming settlement in Bendals, <\/span><\/span>early on the list for a reason.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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\u201cW<\/span><\/span>e are trying to<\/span><\/span> get all the lands prepared in B<\/span><\/span>endals because of the rain that we are expecting; once the rai<\/span><\/span>ns come<\/span><\/span>, it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s going to be a little bit difficult<\/span><\/span> to get l<\/span><\/span>ands prepared in B<\/span><\/span>endals<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> so presently<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> we are trying to get as many acres <\/span><\/span>in B<\/span><\/span>endals as possible \u00a0prepared before the rains come in.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Georges confirmed that<\/span><\/span> they are working with <\/span><\/span>government and private lands<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> once they are sufficient acreages for planting.<\/span><\/span> According to Georges<\/span><\/span>, the<\/span><\/span>importance for Antigua and Barbuda to be self-sufficient in food is crucial especially at this time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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\u201cT<\/span><\/span>he <\/span><\/span>M<\/span><\/span>inistry <\/span><\/span>of A<\/span><\/span>griculture has always been in the process of ensuring food security, however<\/span><\/span>, with the COVID<\/span><\/span> crisis, we saw the importance to ste<\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span> it up a notch where government has dedicated more resources to getting the farmers the necessary assistance<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He added, \u201c<\/span><\/span>Food<\/span><\/span> security is everybody\u2019s business as is always said, therefore we need to <\/span><\/span>increase our production. \u00a0Again, <\/span><\/span>we don\u2019t know when this<\/span><\/span> (COVID-19)<\/span><\/span> is going to be over<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> but when it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s over<\/span><\/span>, \u00a0we need to be in a <\/span><\/span>position where we <\/span><\/span>are <\/span><\/span>more food secure t<\/span><\/span>han when we started orig<\/span><\/span>inally<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> which means cutting down on the importation that we currently face and also bringing more jobs to the agricultural sector and more innovation<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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The agricultural assistant<\/span><\/span> said that this exercise<\/span><\/span> also allows for<\/span><\/span> inc<\/span><\/span>rease in the value added compo<\/span><\/span>ne<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>t to different crops.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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\u201c<\/span><\/span>In the ca<\/span><\/span>se of cassava and sweet potato;<\/span><\/span> o<\/span><\/span>ut of such an exercise<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> we are probably going to end up doing the mash in some cases and<\/span><\/span> in<\/span><\/span> some cases<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> the flour where possible.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the renewed agricultural expansion drive<\/span><\/span>, among<\/span><\/span>the 16 c<\/span><\/span>rops that are currently <\/span><\/span>in focus<\/span><\/span> include okra, lettuce<\/span><\/span>, water melon<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>butternut and<\/span><\/span> cucumber, sweet peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of<\/span><\/span> the crops selected are <\/span><\/span>cash crops that grow between<\/span><\/span> 3<\/span><\/span> –<\/span><\/span> 9 months.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Georges said<\/span><\/span> that <\/span><\/span>he believes <\/span><\/span>that <\/span><\/span>a country like Antigua and Barbuda should not be importing<\/span><\/span> food in<\/span><\/span>the kind of quantities t<\/span><\/span>hat are currently being recorded<\/span><\/span>, h<\/span><\/span>en<\/span><\/span>c<\/span><\/span>e <\/span><\/span>the reason why th<\/span><\/span>e M<\/span><\/span>inistry <\/span><\/span>of Agriculture <\/span><\/span>is pushing programmes like the backyard garden in<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>tiative and the expansion of the agriculture sector on a large<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span> scale.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also on the field were District Officers Kenrick <\/span><\/span>Francis <\/span><\/span>and<\/span><\/span> Vi<\/span><\/span>ctor Wade. Francis said <\/span><\/span>that crops can be plant<\/span><\/span>ed in the ploughed lands in about 2-3 weeks<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Francis was asked if there is right or wrong time to plough<\/span><\/span> the field<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cT<\/span><\/span>he reason why this is the best time to plough<\/span><\/span> is<\/span><\/span>because now<\/span><\/span> is the dry period<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span> you don\u2019t want to plough when it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s raining because the soil is going <\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>o be too hard<\/span><\/span> and with <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>hurricane season right around <\/span><\/span>the corner<\/span><\/span>, you want to make sure all the land preparations are<\/span><\/span> completed and food is in the g<\/span><\/span>round.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wade who is also a D<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>strict O<\/span><\/span>fficer<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> is res<\/span><\/span>ponsible for technical assistan<\/span><\/span>ce, training and educatio<\/span><\/span>n for <\/span><\/span>farmers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said<\/span><\/span> that, based on his experience<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> relationship<\/span><\/span>between<\/span><\/span> the district officers and farmers has been mutually beneficial.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy relationshi<\/span><\/span>p with the farme<\/span><\/span>rs has been pretty good so far; <\/span><\/span>I\u2019ve met a number of farmers<\/span><\/span>, have a good relationship with <\/span><\/span>them through my colleague here M<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span>. Francis;<\/span><\/span> it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s just adding to the scale and also<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>myself<\/span><\/span>be<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>ng fresh out of college<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span> ge<\/span><\/span>t to learn a lot of things <\/span><\/span>from the farmers also<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>so<\/span><\/span> it\u2019s a teacher teach student a<\/span><\/span>nd student teach teacher kind<\/span><\/span> of a job<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Francis and wade <\/span><\/span>also <\/span><\/span>had<\/span><\/span> some<\/span><\/span> words of <\/span><\/span>advice<\/span><\/span> to share with the farmers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Francis stated, \u00a0\u201cD<\/span><\/span>on\u2019t give <\/span><\/span>up, we are experiencing a drought<\/span><\/span> right now in Antigua, but don\u2019t give<\/span><\/span> up<\/span><\/span>, APUA is working with us and we as the officers are behind <\/span><\/span>you <\/span><\/span>and will continue to support<\/span><\/span> all the farmers.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wade advised, \u201cH<\/span><\/span>elp <\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>ne<\/span><\/span> another;<\/span><\/span> we have a stron<\/span><\/span>g assistance from our minister M<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>. Marshall and <\/span><\/span>we thank<\/span><\/span> her <\/span><\/span>for the assistance that she is giving to the exte<\/span><\/span>nsion services and the farmers<\/span><\/span>; <\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span> think it\u2019s a job<\/span><\/span>well done and<\/span><\/span> I hope she continues to support <\/span><\/span>the ongoing projects co<\/span><\/span>ming up.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Trac<\/span><\/span>tor Pool Supervisor within the Ministry of A<\/span><\/span>griculture, <\/span><\/span>Mr. Craig Joseph, <\/span><\/span>exp<\/span><\/span>lained that in light of the COVID-<\/span><\/span>19 food se<\/span><\/span>curity response with regards to<\/span><\/span> land preparation activities<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>things<\/span><\/span> are<\/span><\/span> going good so far, despite a few <\/span><\/span>challenges<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cW<\/span><\/span>e are being resilient and working with what we have t<\/span><\/span>o preform the task at hand.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He noted<\/span><\/span> tha<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span> they have<\/span><\/span> also <\/span><\/span>been partnering wi<\/span><\/span>th the government worksh<\/span><\/span>op to get things going as<\/span><\/span> t<\/span><\/span>ractors<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>plo<\/span><\/span>ughs <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>brush<\/span><\/span> cutters<\/span><\/span> are the main equipment being used in this major undertaking.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the wor<\/span><\/span>k<\/span><\/span> is<\/span><\/span> currently being done in <\/span><\/span>Belvi<\/span><\/span>dere<\/span><\/span>, B<\/span><\/span>ath<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>odge and C<\/span><\/span>reek <\/span><\/span>S<\/span><\/span>ide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The tractor Pool Supervisor is<\/span><\/span><\/a> appealing<\/span><\/span> to the farmers to be <\/span><\/span>patient<\/span><\/span> as the<\/span><\/span> various<\/span><\/span> teams from the Ministry of Agriculture are<\/span><\/span> out there working hard to cover everyone in all the distr<\/span><\/span>icts over a period of time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ministry of Agriculture in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, has embarked on a widespread land preparation exercise for farmers in Antigua and Barbuda to increase crop production. Agricultural Assistant Three, Mr. Brent Georges who is spearheading this project, explained that theimplementation of this project is being done based on farmers registering their interest through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":110007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ministry of Agriculture Builds Momentum In Its COVID-19 Response To Food Nutrition And Security - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ministry of Agriculture Builds Momentum In Its COVID-19 Response To Food Nutrition And Security\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ministry of Agriculture in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, has embarked on a widespread land preparation exercise for farmers in Antigua and Barbuda to increase crop production. Agricultural Assistant Three, Mr. Brent Georges who is spearheading this project, explained that theimplementation of this project is being done based on farmers registering their interest through […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-02T10:35:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/363C5C52-B58F-4FE7-B35E-30ABCFDF62FF-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"The Ministry of Agriculture Builds Momentum In Its COVID-19 Response To Food Nutrition And Security\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-02T10:35:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-02T10:35:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\"},\"wordCount\":1054,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1440\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/363C5C52-B58F-4FE7-B35E-30ABCFDF62FF-scaled.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Agriculture\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/\",\"name\":\"The Ministry of Agriculture Builds Momentum In Its COVID-19 Response To Food Nutrition And Security - 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Agricultural Assistant Three, Mr. Brent Georges who is spearheading this project, explained that theimplementation of this project is being done based on farmers registering their interest through […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/the-ministry-of-agriculture-builds-momentum-in-its-covid-19-response-to-food-nutrition-and-security\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2020-05-02T10:35:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/363C5C52-B58F-4FE7-B35E-30ABCFDF62FF-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"5 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