Grenada, through the Ministry of Agriculture, moves forward with the implementation of the Tissue Cultured Banana Pilot Project, launched last\u00a0 year, to promote the resurgence of the local banana industry.<\/p>\n
Following up on work already completed through the pilot project, and understanding the progress\u00a0 made to date by beneficiary farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture continued the knowledge sharing\u00a0 and learning exchange, having hosted the third training of the project on Tuesday, February 23.<\/p>\n
At the Ministry\u2019s demonstration plot at the Mirabeau Propagation Station, farmers and field\u00a0 officers were educated and shared their experiences in a variety of areas, including\u00a0Field\u00a0 Management, Harvesting, Post-harvest Handling, Quality Assurance and Record-Keeping.<\/p>\n
Presentations were done by resource persons from the Ministry of Agriculture: Senior Agricultural\u00a0 Officer, Lauren St. Louis; Chief Pest Management Officer, Thaddeus Peters; National Specialist\u00a0 for the Inter-American Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Derek Charles; and Kenly Edward,\u00a0 and Clive Lewis from the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) \u2013 all players in the\u00a0 move to resuscitate the industry.<\/p>\n
Chair of the Committee set up to manage the pilot project and Chief Extension Officer, Randolph\u00a0 Shears, said the training was significant at this time, \u201cas many of the farmers have reached the\u00a0 critical point of harvesting and marketing of their bananas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourteen of the established tissue cultured plots are fruiting, three farmers are now harvesting\u00a0 significant quantities from their field, while one of the benefiting farmers recently harvested more\u00a0 than 100 boxes of the improved varieties and sold them to the MNIB.<\/p>\n
Carlton Gulley, one of the 14 farmers who benefitted, contributed to the discussions during the\u00a0 training.<\/p>\n
Gully told farmers, \u201cThis is very important for us. These lessons here today are things we must\u00a0 learn and implement in the management of our farms. Any banana plants we purchase from now\u00a0 on, we must be able to manage them to full maturity, to get some benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Agriculture continues to follow up with Gulley and the13 other farmers by\u00a0 conducting routine site visits and providing other technical and physical support, such as in the\u00a0 management of pests and diseases.<\/p>\n
Extension Assistant, Prince Matthew, who supports the farmers, participated in the training as\u00a0 well.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the areas where I work are with banana farmers, so the information I got here at the\u00a0 training will be very timely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the ministry\u2019s efforts to resuscitate the industry, the Inter-American Institute of Cooperation on\u00a0 Agriculture (IICA) also provided support, through the development of a Banana Tech Pack, a\u00a0 technical guide that includes recommendations on pest and disease control, follower setting and\u00a0the timing of applications of key banana inputs, including irrigation, along with illustrations of\u00a0 some of the key banana production practices.<\/p>\n
This training follows two practical sessions held in 2020, which focused on areas such as Pest and\u00a0 Disease Management and Control Measures for the Management of the Moko Disease and Black\u00a0 Sigatoka. This Tissue Cultured Banana Pilot Project forms part of the Government of Grenada\u2019s\u00a0 COVID-19 Response and Mitigation Plan for the Agricultural sector. A total of fifteen (15) plots\u00a0 were established using the Tissue Cultured Plants (William Variety) received.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grenada, through the Ministry of Agriculture, moves forward with the implementation of the Tissue Cultured Banana Pilot Project, launched last\u00a0 year, to promote the resurgence of the local banana industry. 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