Agriculture Ministry Procures Seeds & Seedlings for National Food Security
The Ministry of Agriculture has set up a Coronavirus Food Production Plan to ensure food abundance in Dominica. The ministry expended EC$162,000 to purchase seeds and seedlings that will be distributed to farmers nationwide. The government is doing this to implement the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for national food security to cushion the impacts of COVID-19 on people.
Ryan Anselm, technical officer for projects and services in the Ministry of Agriculture, said the government is propagating seedlings at agricultural stations across the island and also engaging in food production.
He disclosed that the La Plaine Agricultural Station, the One Mile Agricultural Station in Portsmouth, and the Chinese Agricultural Mission among others are being used for the purposes of propagating seedlings and raising crops. He added that the Botanical Gardens have been retrofitted with a greenhouse to further the targeted purposes.
“We’ve started sowing tomatoes, lettuce, pumpkin and cucumber,” Anselm stated. “We are doing 10,000 lettuce and cabbage seedlings and 5,000 sweet peppers, tomatoes and pumpkin.”
According to Anselm, farmers with the technical know-how of raising seedlings will be supplied seeds for such purposes. However, he encouraged farmers to get in touch with their agricultural extension officers to obtain relevant assistance in this regard. He added that after commercial and subsistence farmers have been supplied with needed seeds and seedlings, then hobbyists and backyard gardeners may also hope to be part of the initiative.
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