{"id":10302,"date":"2022-06-01T09:31:34","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T13:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=10302"},"modified":"2022-06-01T09:31:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T13:31:34","slug":"government-and-gcna-work-towards-transforming-nutmeg-sub-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/01\/government-and-gcna-work-towards-transforming-nutmeg-sub-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Government And GCNA Work Towards Transforming Nutmeg Sub-Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST GEORGE\u2019S\u2013<\/strong> The Government of Grenada, in collaboration with the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association (GCNA), is working towards improved efficiency, effectiveness, and viability as they seek to transform the nutmeg sub-sector.<\/p>\n

The hope is to restore the spice to its green gold glory days through increased nutmeg production and advanced innovative ideas.<\/p>\n

At its latest Annual General Meeting held last Thursday, the association reflected on its past successes in nutmeg production and committed to making fundamental changes in its operations to help transform the sector and boost its image and sales, while improving morale amongst nutmeg farmers.<\/p>\n

Both Government and GCNA officials underscored the importance of increasing nutmeg production.<\/p>\n

Acting Chief Agricultural Officer, Trevor Thompson, delivering remarks on behalf of Agriculture Minister, Peter David, said \u201cit is critical that we further increase nutmeg production to reduce unit costs and generate profit from selling greater volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson identified praedial larceny, inaccessible farm roads, scarcity of adequate labour, insufficient levels of research and development, and insufficient access to investment, finance, and lands, as some of the challenges that must be addressed.<\/p>\n

He said the Ministry is currently addressing the issue of inaccessible farm roads, particularly those that lead to nutmeg fields. He stated further that the propagation stations are working on having suitable nutmeg plants available to farmers in the upcoming Plant Distribution Season.<\/p>\n

Elaborating further on the issue of increased nutmeg production, GCNA\u2019s Chief Executive Officer, Leo Cato, said it must be considered a priority in this transformational season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the task might appear humongous,\u201d Cato cautioned, \u201cwe as farmers and members of the association must endeavor to do what we can to increase production level of our farms.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIf we were known for a top-quality nutmeg that has been affected because of a loss of the Banda, and the Papua, we have to restore this; that\u2019s how we transform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, Cato believes that through support from Government projects like the OECS Regional Agriculture Competitiveness Project (AGRICOM), the association can better realise the innovation needed within the sector.<\/p>\n

He mentioned that through AGRICOM, the association has \u201ccommenced work on the Beaulieu facility, where a research and development lab is being developed; where value-added products will be broadened and where a machine will be cracking and sorting on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another pressing issue for the transformational process, is the supply of viable nutmeg plants to farmers. Head of GCNA\u2019s Technical Committee, Leonard St. Bernard, said the association has been working with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that nutmeg farmers receive high-quality female plants for production.<\/p>\n

The GCNA has been in the field, identifying the three different species of nutmegs that exist in Grenada \u2013 The Malayan, the Banda, and the Papua \u2013 identifying planting material and actively propagating. The association is also involved in marcotting which is a process of grafting that yields only female plants. There is also some engagement with St. George\u2019s University to conduct PCR tests on traditional nutmegs to identify certain characteristics like sex.<\/p>\n

Ministry of Agriculture\u2026ensuring food and nutrition security for all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST GEORGE\u2019S\u2013 The Government of Grenada, in collaboration with the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association (GCNA), is working towards improved efficiency, effectiveness, and viability as they seek to transform the nutmeg sub-sector. The hope is to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,39],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-government-news","8":"category-local-news"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1",2048,1536,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg",2048,1536,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg",2048,1536,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1",300,225,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1",1024,768,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=1536%2C1152&ssl=1",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1",2048,1536,true],"mh-magazine-slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=1030%2C438&ssl=1",1030,438,true],"mh-magazine-content":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1",678,381,true],"mh-magazine-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=678%2C509&ssl=1",678,509,true],"mh-magazine-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=326%2C245&ssl=1",326,245,true],"mh-magazine-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/285589391_376565997839754_554053597692152631_n.jpg?resize=80%2C60&ssl=1",80,60,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"adminrfm","author_link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/author\/adminrfm\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Government News<\/a> Local News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"ST GEORGE\u2019S\u2013 The Government of Grenada, in collaboration with the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association (GCNA), is working towards improved efficiency, effectiveness, and viability as they seek to transform the nutmeg sub-sector. 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