Antiguan Farmer Twin-I Payne Wins Top Prize at BVI Agricultural Fair, Excels at USVI Competition
Twin-I Payne, a dedicated young farmer from Antigua and Barbuda known for his innovative agricultural methods, secured first place at the BVI Agricultural Fair. His commitment to nurturing high-quality crops prepared him to showcase his work at the prestigious Agriculture and Food Fair in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).
Accompanied by a team from the Ministry of Agriculture, Twin-I traveled across the Caribbean, proudly representing Antigua and Barbuda. Their participation was not just an individual effort but a testament to the nation’s rich agricultural heritage.
Upon arriving in the USVI, the team set up an impressive display featuring vibrant produce and goods that highlighted the country’s diverse farming practices. Twin-I’s table stood out, drawing attention with an array of fresh, meticulously cultivated vegetables.
As the competition results were announced, cheers erupted from his team—Twin-I had once again claimed first place. His victory was not just a personal achievement but a proud moment for all farmers in Antigua and Barbuda, placing their agricultural expertise on an international stage.
Following his win, Twin-I expressed gratitude to the government for its continued support, acknowledging the vital role of the Ministry of Agriculture’s resources and programs in his success and that of fellow farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture remains committed to enhancing programs that improve farming techniques, boost food production, and strengthen national food security.
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CONGRATULATIONS 🇦🇬 🎊 👏
Great! But when Antigua go BVI and USVI for agriculture competition and win is not a plus or achievement, it’s a teaching moment for these American or economically develop countries who don’t really do farming, their market is just so flooded with junk foods and GMO products, if Antigua go up against Dominica and st Vincent then we talking real winning.
UPP look here, Cde. Anthony Smith a work for Antigua and Barbuda. Congratulations to the Hon. Anthony Smith and the employees of the ministry of agriculture.
Congrats, Twin-I 🏆🏆👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 A well-deserved win given your passionate dedication and hard work! Cheers! 🇦🇬🇦🇬🇦🇬
Congrats Twin I , you are a good marketer ! Great at displaying the vegetable grown in Antigua by yourself and other local farmers, producer , to include our ago producers.
The question I have to ask is how much tons( millions of dollars)of these vegetables are exported to those market?
My next question is how many tons ( millions of dollars) of each vegetable I see on the table being still imported into Antigua?
Since I understand that containers upon containers of Pumpkins, Carrots , Tomatoes. Onions, Sweet Potatoes , beets, wax cassava since local cassavas don’t last more than a few day, you name it we import it.
The plant protection and the ministry of agriculture issues these import permits in galore, the records are there . We are imported containers of pumpkins and other vegetables from Guyana into Antigua. Boat loads of Pumpkins, Sweet Potatoes , eggplant, green bananas, coconuts etc are imported into Antigua in a weekly basis from Dominica , St. Lucia and St. Vincent. As the PM said over and over that although we have increased in production by a few percentage points. The import bill continues to grow even faster.
So it’s nice to show case that Antigua can produce. If is nice to know that we have the best tasting fruit and vegetables in the region because our soil type. However charity begins at home.
One minister of agriculture during his tenure had actually stopped the ministry from going to this event. His point of view was that it was just costing the government. That after we go to these places, we do not produce enough and consistently to hold down any market. So he thought it was a better idea to concentrate on local production and decreasing the import bill. That made sense and that is the point farm Browne continues to make.
Again CMC is the biggest importer of agriculture produce into Antigua. They are competing with the meat farmers especially.