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New Farm Mechanisation Scheme To Be Established |
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Written by Mark Byer
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Thursday, 29 December 2011 16:43 |
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A new Farm Mechanisation Programme is in the works and could be ‘up and running’ within the next couple of months.
This was announced by Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, who said his Ministry was now in the process of sourcing the necessary equipment for such a scheme.
The Farm Mechanisation Programme allows small and medium-sized farmers to have access to services at concessionary rates where their land can be prepared for farming.
“All of these services would be done in a joint arrangement between the Ministry and private sector personnel… once we get that established and we are working on the dynamics of it, those persons previously who could not get their farmlands ploughed, can now do so through contacting the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation,” Dr. Estwick explained.
He stressed that such a scheme would be of tremendous benefit to the local agricultural sector, particularly crop production.
“We are inundated every day with farmers complaining that they can’t get their lands ploughed, they can’t get their [crops] prepared and you can appreciate why because the large scale operators have the wherewithal and the other capacities to buy tractors and so on. Since they [small and medium-sized farmers] don’t have the capacity, the state has to intervene and create the institutional framework to assist them in enhancing their agricultural production,” the Agriculture Minister maintained. (AS/BGIS) |
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Dr. Estwick: Farm Incentive Schemes Being Revised |
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Written by Mark Byer
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Thursday, 29 December 2011 16:41 |
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The Ministry of Agriculture could soon be looking at an incentive scheme to encourage more farmers to utilise low-cost greenhouse technology in the production of crops.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, who revealed that the Ministry was in the process of revising its farm incentive schemes and such an initiative could be included in the new programme.
He was speaking following a Food Crop Research Field Day at the Ministry’s headquarters at Graeme Hall, Christ Church.
During the field tour, farmers, officials of the ministry and agricultural stakeholders saw firsthand how row covers were used to cultivate hot peppers, with very encouraging results. The project was undertaken by the Central Agronomic Research Station.
Row covers are protective materials used to shield crops from harsh elements including cold, wind and damage from insects.
Dr. Estwick lamented that too many of the farm incentive schemes were back loaded, that is, farmers have to purchase the items they require and then apply for a rebate.
He stressed that such a system was not in the best interest of small to medium-sized farmers.
“You would appreciate that the majority of the small to medium-sized farmers would not have the cash flow upfront, so we are trying to revise that to create a mechanism where farmers would not receive money in their hand, but who they wish to purchase from, we can access directly and the rebate therefore, goes to the supplier,” the Agriculture Minister explained.
Dr. Estwick said another option to encourage farmers to use greenhouse technology could be to bulk purchase materials.
“We can act as the conduit to bulk purchase. Apart from [that], we can have this set under the Barbados Agricultural Management Company Ltd., the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation or within the ambit of the Barbados Agricultural Society …The bulk purchasing can be done in relation to the orders from the framers so no storage is necessary. When you bulk purchase, [the goods] are then delivered directly from the supplier to the farmers, which would [also] eliminate the necessity for infrastructure,” Dr. Estwick suggested. (AS/BGIS)
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Estwick Technology In Agriculture Is Vital |
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Written by Mark Byer
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Thursday, 29 December 2011 16:40 |
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The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management has been making great strides in the application of greenhouse technology to produce increased and better crop yields.
This was highlighted at the Ministry’s Food Crop Research Field Day at Graeme Hall, Christ Church.
Officials from the Central Agronomic Research Station, led by Agronomist Stevenson Skeete, have been exploring the use of row covers in the cultivation of hot peppers and beans with some very encouraging results.
During a field tour with farmers, officials of the ministry and agricultural stakeholders this morning, Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick gave his full support to the use of technology in the agricultural sector and encouraged farmers to adopt techniques such as row covers.
“One of the fundamental ways in which we have to increase our production of fruits and vegetables in Barbados would be to utilise technology wherever possible...We want to be able to say to Barbadians that there is a low-cost way of achieving many of the production advantages that one would usually get within the large greenhouse application of that technology.
“…It is this type of research that the Ministry needs to push and advance to the farming community and that farmers need to take advantage of, so that they can not only increase their domestic production but that they can… feed themselves and their families,” Dr. Estwick said.
Meanwhile, Agronomist, Stevenson Skeete added that the results of the research trial on project peppers had been very positive and one of the most impactful he had seen so far.
“Often the improvement is usually 10, 15 or 20 per cent but this one factor of covering the hot peppers in these special shields has given us a dramatic increase,” the Agronomist pointed out.
In agriculture, row covers are protective materials used to shield crops from harsh elements including cold, wind and damage from insects.
The research trial by Mr. Skeete showed that the hot peppers grown under row covers could be over five times the size of others cultivated in the open.
The advantages of row covers include: protection from adverse heat, cold and wind, reduced incidence of pest damage; row covers are flexible and can be moved around easily; increased moisture and humidity; increased yield and crop quality; and the cost of implementing row covers is much lower than installing a full greenhouse.(AS/BGIS)
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Agricultural Pilot Project Gets Under Way |
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Written by Mark Byer
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Thursday, 29 December 2011 16:39 |
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A pilot project is under way which seeks to forge a closer working relationship between farmers and the retail sector.
This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, who said the new venture was built around the concept of the State Trading Enterprise which was announced in the Budgetary and Financial Statement of 2009.
During a recent interview, he added that the initiative was an attempt by the Ministry of Agriculture to develop a more effective link between the supply aspect of farm production and the demand for goods.
“We are starting with Trimart. They are in a relationship with the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC), operating a couple of farms and they are producing [crops] directly for Trimart to purchase, so that the farmer can benefit.
“We create the infrastructure and the institutional framework and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to manage it. We, therefore, know what is being produced every single month, how much is being produced, when it is going to be harvested, so Trimart can now plan when they will use that product and so on,” Dr. Estwick pointed out.
The Agriculture Minister added that the long-term objective was to include more supermarkets and farmers in the programme as well as other departments and business entities.
“Gradually I would want to get the hotels involved, the schools, maybe the Ministry of Education, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital because they purchase a lot of fruits and vegetables… in Barbados. I want to get some of them to come on board so we can drive the production side to satisfy their demand but it must be done within an ICT platform, so you can manage the demand and supply,” Dr. Estwick said.
He also revealed that his Ministry was working in conjunction with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to create an ICT database for the local agricultural sector.
“So, at any point in time, I should know how many tonnes of carrots are being produced or planted or when they are being harvested. I should also know this for pumpkins and watermelons or lamb or pork so, in this way you can deal with gluts or when major importers say they don’t have supplies, you can manage that properly,” the Agriculture Minister explained. (AS/BGIS)
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