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| Dr. George Wesoloski explaining improvements on poultry/pig farming |
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“Take maximum advantage of the training here” was the advice given to Nevis farmers by the Hon. Roberto Hector, Minister of Agriculture, during a farmers’ workshop on Monday, July 19. The event was held by the Eastern Caribbean Groups and Companies (ECGC), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture.
Minister Hector also addressed how far the island had progressed with regard to farming, saying that Nevis had come from “tying pigs under the tree” to possessing the proper accommodations for poultry and pig production.
Dr. Kelvin Daly, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, informed that the aim of the seminar was to provide the farmers in attendance with protection, and to educate them about the advanced technologies available to them for improving their farms and their production.
“The purpose of this workshop is to educate the farmers,” said Martin A. Laborde, who worked with the guest speaker, George Wesoloki. He told The Observer that their hope was that through education, experience, and determination the farmers would improve their farms, engendering greater production yields.
Wesoloski, who hold a Doctorate from the University of Illinois, has worked for the Central Department of Agriculture in Colombia and is currently participating in a U.S. program known as the “Food Corps.” The program has facilitated his travel around the world for the past two and a half years, the most current stop being in the Caribbean islands, to educate farmers about improvements that can be made to their current practices.
He gave a presentation to event attendees on poultry and pig farming, which consisted mainly of guidelines to the farmers on how to maintain their agricultural techniques and to improve the cost efficiency of production and management.
The ECGC was first introduced to Nevis in 1972 in Brown Hill as a Flour Mill, later developing a Feed mill. As the years went by it gradually developed into the well-established business that it is today. It is not the first time that the company has come to Nevis to provide information to farmers about available farming techniques.
The organization has also made it a priority to provide other islands in the Caribbean with similar information, with the ultimate goal of improving local pig, poultry and dairy production. |
