By Klieon John
St. Kitts Reporter
In celebration of World Food Day (Tuesday October 16), a prize-giving ceremony for the Farmers and Fishers Competition was held on Tuesday at the St. Johnson Community Centre.
The theme of the celebrations was The Right to Food, part of a national initiative to elevate the status of our fishing and agricultural industries.
Present were the Minister of Land, Housing, Agriculture, Fisheries and Co-operatives, Hon. Cedric Liburd, Dr. Keith Archibald, national correspondent for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Dr. Hermia Morton-Anthony, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture.
Local farmer Augustus Shelford of Tabernacle was invited to address the crowd of farmers, fishermen and other involved citizens. He urged the authorities to invest a continued effort in the further development in the agricultural and fishing industries.
“Agriculture is a key element in human survival. For tourism to be endorsed, agriculture must be the foundation on which it is built and on which it would be sustained. I believe as a nation and a people we should be willing to invest in the agricultural sector, knowing that our future depends upon it.
“This can become possible by practicing to buy local produce and having that frame of mind every time you go out to shop. I want to see in this country the development of serious agricultural programs where money and other resources are placed into the hands of the farmers; where they are not just left alone but a committee is put in place to manage that project; who see to the welfare of this project and ensure its success.
“Also, another one of our drawbacks is due to the lack of unity among our farmers and fishers. For example, we have started up the St. Kitts Farmers Co-operative and even now there are more farmers who are not a part of it than farmers who are a part of it. Only when we come together can we become a force to be reckoned with. It would give us the power to see to the needs and requirements that we have. So I urge you today, farmers and fishers; team up and let us see the success of this industry in our federation.”
Dr. Keith Archibald gave an explanation of the theme and the FAO’s stance on world-wide food issues.
“The theme The Right to Food is most important. The FAO has taken that theme to focus the world on the question of hunger as well as food safety. The whole question of food now is out in the forefront and the importance of food to sustain all humanity is now being emphasized. The areas being emphasized most are quality and safety. It is not enough to talk about producing food but producing nutritious food that has no harmful substance for the people that consume it.”
Later that evening, prizes were given to farmers who had excelled in the annual Farmers and Fishers Competition. Prizes were given for farm sizes, best fruit and tree crops, livestock and best fishers in areas along the island’s coast.
The farmers of the year were named, Roland Mills and Keithly Armstrong who received cash prizes of EC$750.00 each. Livestock farmer of the year was Joseph mills, who received EC$2,500.00 in cash. The fisher of the year was Denis Flemming of East Basseterre who received the coveted FAO medal.
In total, EC$60,000 in cash was awarded to local farmers and fishers by the FAO.
