Premier Wheatley attends AgriFest in St Croix, USVI
AgriFest is being held from February 17-19, 2024, at the Rudolph Shulterbrandt Agricultural Complex, Estate Lower Love.
Dr Wheatley’s small delegation included his wife Carolyn Wheatley, Minister for Health and Social Development the Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9), Junior Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Dr the Hon Karl Dawson and the consultant to the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Mr L. Allen Wheatley.
The [British] Virgin Islands Premier also participated in the ribbon-cutting exercise, along with USVI Governor Albert A. Bryan A. Jr and other persons.
Guests of the 42nd AgriFest were also expected to arrive from Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and Grenada.
Theme
The theme is ‘AGRICULTURE: Our future and so much more in 2024.’
The exhibition includes locally produced agricultural products, livestock, arts and crafts and more from the island.
Family fun includes interesting and attractive exhibits, demonstrations, entertainment, challenging competitions, games, prize-winning animals, a variety of delicious local foods and beverages, along with fun and fellowship with friends and relatives from neighbouring islands.
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24 Responses to “Premier Wheatley attends AgriFest in St Croix, USVI”
I do hope that our will fastly impressed in the very near future.
You guys need some serious help and we have all the expertise right here. Is there a report of what you learned that's relayed to the people?
We usually are paying persons to oversee farming & fisheries who have little to no experience doing it for a living. meanwhile expect our non-government people to do it in a self sacrificing manner or fend for themselves (no ask or initiative to subsidize tickets for farmers to attend the fair as a VI group for example)
This is a recurring theme not new, past agriculture heads & decision makers had little to no experience while the skilled and trained were pushed aside.
One benefit to this trip is they expand their mind... at what financial cost, good effort but some of them are starting to learn from zero on our pay to our detriment. Did anyone bring back seeds?
Money and contracts. Sweet tooth. Remember the greenhouses? Different people but same forced-ripe path. Fisheries, Agriculture, Finance, Health.... with all that on your plate plus inexperience its going to be a hard.
How many times have you seen people clear cut and not a thing thrives after all the big moving and shaking. Dont embarrass us further, the greenhouses came and went.
The people need small basics fulfilled not frills... affordable water tanks, cheap seeds and seedlings is the simplest bonus to agriculture, they stopped that. Banana slips out of Paraquita bay for $1 to anyone, stopped that. Not expanded it, stopped it. How can we struggle for ideas.
The point of educating themselves is to lunge for the foreign contracts but how about educating, subsidizing & making it easier for the people who want to do it?
What happened to the marketing authority? Politicians act like they never heard of it. Wasted the peoples time meeting & talking about it?
Next there is not a peep about "the way forward" in regards to the stalled cannabis act 2020 & administrative infrastructure another year later. Do we deserve to be in the dark while things like bi-water and green houses happen. Have we not learned?
AS the past premier was in the end found guilty it is time to take that cannabis bill back to the house of assembly and submit a new one that benefits all stakeholders not just the 'investor' and those in Paraquita bay. In addition back then they said farmers would receive 5%.... where was the 95% planned to go ? hmmm
Decriminalize, 12 plants per house hold, apply for license to grow more, support the recreational tourist industry, licensed providers for medical tourism and get that idea of export out off the table until the international law supports it.
The first seed comes free from the earth not from a dollar. For government to stop giving out cheap plants & manure is not helping. Food security is not a optional service its a need to a healthy territory.
Everywhere on this earth the political leaders need first knowledge of important activities that have the potential to further strengthen agriculture development.
If a country depends on other countries to produce all its food needs, that will in fats show, as was said, by Jesus Christ: "If the blind leads the blind, all will fall in the ditch."
I too sometimes have criticized the Premier, in accordance with my opinionated views, and rightfully felt justified as others are. However
It is ok to criticize others actions constructively when necessary, but never distructively. Remember, though, to first begins with self criticism.