Local Caribbean Vegetables and Fruits
Nevis Boosts Economy By Buying Local Foods
Charlestown, Nevis
May 14, 2008
Director of Agriculture on Nevis Dr. Kelvin Daly applauded Nevisians for their efforts to utilse local agricultural produce. He said the public’s response to a buy local, produce local and eat local campaign of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) through the Department of Agriculture in 2007, had so far been overwhelming.
He made the disclosure during a recent interview with the Department of Information. He said too that there had been a number of new farmers who had come on board and continued to come forward, who had expressed their intention to move into commercial farming.
“Since 2007 when we really started in earnest, to encourage local production the response has been really overwhelming. We have a number of new farmers who have come on board and they continue to come forward”¦these are guys are looking to get to commercial size. The backyard quarter acre is not sufficient for them anymore so they are looking for two and three and four acres to plant food,” he said.
The Director noted that to date the island had done fairly well in the area of self sufficiency in a number of crops notably tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn and in some areas of meat production
Dr. Daly explained that the NIA through the Department of Agriculture had put a number of measures in place to facilitate farmers in particular the new ones for an increase and sustained production.
