‘Greenhouses to produce food by year end!’ – Hon Pickering
He was speaking during the Second Session of the First Sitting of the Third House of Assembly yesterday July 6, 2015 during the period for Statement by Ministers.
The Minister said that experts this year visited the greenhouses to conduct a technical audit of the facilities and found the structural integrity of the greenhouses to be in excellent condition and that the electrical system needed to be connected to the grid. But they also found that the fogging system, thermal screen and covering and irrigation systems have deteriorated and must be replaced.
Hon Pickering said that together with addressing the greenhouses the Government will restructure the Department of Agriculture. “The current model focuses on operation as opposed to regulation.”
Food security
The Minister said that the development of the agriculture industry is important in the territory’s push towards food security.
“However there is a need to recognise that times have changed and there are many challenges facing this industry and thus we must employ appropriate strategies that will mitigate those challenges.”
He also said that the development that the territory has seen over the many years has brought with it a demand for more food and that it might be difficult to conceive that the territory once exported sugar, cotton and other agricultural products to the United States Virgin Islands and other places.
“Madam Speaker those were the days but we are now faced with new realities. Climate change and the negative impacts thereof have forced us to alter our perspective on current issues,” he said.
Noting that while it is difficult to prognosticate the effects of climate change on agriculture, Hon Pickering said it is certain that the frequency and severity of droughts due to climate change pose serious challenges to farmers, making it difficult to grow crops and raise animals.
200 plus farmers in VI
“The effects of climate change will undoubtedly impact agricultural production negatively and force us to adopt a technological model of production and abandon even though not entirely some of the antiquated methods of farming.”
He said that there are some 200 plus farmers who in varying degrees continue to produce crops and livestock and saluted them for their dedication in the face of challenges.
The Minister noted that without adequate rainfall farmers will be challenged to continue in the industry and said that these challenges have not gone unnoticed.
“The Ministry and the Department of Agriculture have embarked on assisting the farming community in these difficult times. Specifically we have contracted with individuals to deliver water on farms as well as install pipe to get water to more remote areas on Paraquita Bay. We have also purchased water for farmers not located in the Paraquita Bay area. Within the past year we have expended $42,500 assisting our farmers.”
Hon Pickering said that if the territory is to truly improve food security the focus cannot be solely increasing production but on increasing productivity in the sector.
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