Minister promises “big shake-up” at Wallilabou Agricultural Station

Minister of Agriculture Saboto Ceasar, has promised a “big shake-up” at the agricultural station at Wallilabou expressing that he was not pleased with performance out of that extension unit.

“I am not satisfied as the Minister of Agriculture as to the performance at the Wallilabou station….We are paying people to work at the station and you can’t put your pot on the fire that and go to that station and know you are going to leave with seedlings…Wallilabou station will be getting a big shake up,” the minister said.

Caesar was speaking at a recent event in Barrouallie, where he announced a $50,000 injection into the Wallilabou Agricultural Station for seeds and seedling production.

The minister said it is important for farmers on the leeward side of the mainland to be able to access seedlings and other support from the station.

He promised that the station will be restructured, and other stations around the country will also have to improve their performances as the demands for their services increase.

The minister said as well that there are other programmes being conducted in conjunction with the Zero Hunger Trust Fund and the Farmers’ Support Company to establish over seven thousand backyard gardeners.

“There are too many things that we are buying overseas that we can grow from home…the cucumbers, the tomatoes, the hot peppers- we have to grow more of these,” he noted.

“We are also going to work with co-operatives to make sure you have the inputs so that you can plant more and you will have more to market.”