The Ministry of Agriculture is currently perfecting plans to extend the rural backyard gardening programme to urban farmers in Roseau, Portsmouth and other major parts of Dominica. Ryan Anselm, Technical Officer for Projects and Services in the Division of Agriculture, stated that the success that attended the launching of the initial programme on a rural scale informed the proposed launch on an urban scale.
Anselm said that many rural women from Tete Morne, Grand Bay, the Kalinago Territory, and other farming districts turned out to take advantage of the backyard gardening initiative when it was launched. He noted that the encouraging response of the rural respondents is what is expected to occur when the programme is launched at the urban level.
“We’re going to launch an Urban Agriculture Programme for Roseau central and environs and Portsmouth,” Anselm said. “We believe that launching this programme will have urban residents developing pot and container culture for those with limited land space.”
He added that the initiative will ensure that Dominican households consume organic farm products individually grown in backyards and other farming spaces. He said this will serve to provide healthy and nutritious meals for everyone in the country so that excess harvest can be packaged for exporting in the nearest future.
In a related move, agri-business expert Vanessa Prevost has encouraged every Dominican to go into crop and livestock production so that there will be food sufficiency and security in the country to counter the socio-economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that organic and fresh farm products make for a healthy living since it boosts the immunity of the individual against tropical and viral diseases.
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