By Vernlyn Zakers
Agricultural Engineer in the Department of Agriculture in St. Kitts, Mr. Gene Knight, is among agricultural specialists from a number of Caribbean territories attending a five-day workshop in Jamaica.
The workshop is geared towards the management of agricultural irrigation technology and is being organised through a cooperative programme between the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Government of Italy, which is aimed at improving food security and safety in CARICOM/CARIFORUM countries.
According to the Information Office of the federal government, St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the Caribbean nations that is benefiting from the FAO’s Food Security programme.
Irrigation equipment has been acquired by several farmers through financing provided by the Italian Government, said Erasmus Williams, press secretary to the Prime Minister.
Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Roger Clarke, who addressed the opening ceremony, emphasised that the cooperative programme sought to “strengthen the human and institutional capacity in agricultural and rural sectors for farm families, communities, national and regional organisations, to improve food security and promote healthy living among Caribbean peoples.”
The weeklong workshop would train regional irrigation technicians in improved water management techniques and facilitate regional networking on irrigation matters and will give specialists from the Caribbean the opportunity to participate in an agricultural irrigation management course run by certified instructors from the Irrigation Association of the United States, and receive training in the use of specialised equipment.
FAO Representative in Jamaica, Mr. Dunstan Campbell, told the workshop participants that food security and poverty alleviation, which were two key concerns of the FAO, were being addressed at the household and national levels, in countries where the Organisation was active.
“Water management as far as the FAO is concerned, is a major strategy towards achieving the objectives of food security and poverty alleviation,” Mr. Campbell told the gathering.
He noted, however, that the full potential of irrigation was not being achieved within Caribbean territories, “because in most of the cases .other best practices in agriculture are not involved with irrigation.”
