Farmers responsible for SVG meeting WFS target – FAO Director General

Farmers are the ones responsible for St Vincent and the Grenadines achieving the World Food Summit’s (WFS) target of reducing, by more than half, the number of undernourished persons in the country.{{more}}

This declaration was made by the Director General for the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Jose Graziano da Silva, following a tour of agricultural sites on the Windward side of St Vincent, last Thursday.

The director general, who noted the country’s achievement for being among 18 countries from the Caribbean region to achieve Millenium Development Goal number one, stated that while the government’s efforts must be commended, it was the farmers who were responsible for the achievement.

“I had the opportunity to see how the farmers work this morning,” he said, during a lunch reception.

“We had discussed it yesterday with some of the representatives of the farmers union, the problems that you have. I would say they are common problems for farmers all around the world…I saw how you were solving these problems. That is very important. I saw how you were working together…there are many lessons that I am taking from the country”.

During the tour, da Silva visited various agricultural based sites, including agro processor VincyFresh, where food processing is done using local root crops and vegetables, and the Agro-Processing Laboratory in Orange Hill, where he got a first-hand look at plant tissue culture being done.

The FAO director general also left his mark in the country, when he commemorated his visit to Orange Hill by planting a soursop tree on the grounds.

“I was very curious to see what was done in the country and now I can say I saw a lot of good things done here,” da Silva said.

“I can say that you are on the right track and that your neighbour countries of the Eastern Caribbean can follow the same path”.

Following the tour, the director general spoke with farmers from all over the country at a lunch reception, held at the Prime Minister’s private residence at Gorse.(BK)