Last Updated on May 7, 2024, 2:01 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Basseterre: The Minister of Agriculture, Samal Duggins expressed his excitement as St. Kitts and Nevis has received fifteen thousand banana and fifteen thousand plantain slips on Saturday. The planting of these crops has already been commenced on the same day.
The arrival of banana seeds and plantain underscored the importance of agricultural development and marked a step towards achieving the goal of 25 by 25 Food Import Reduction Programme.
The government of the twin-island Federation revealed that these 30,000 bananas and the plantain slips were of the first batch of the 400,000 slips, which the ministry is expecting to receive as part of the mission to reduce the country’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
This will further enable the country to improve food security and a form a comprehensive plan to increase the fruits production.
Minister Duggins felt delighted as the farmers across St. Kitts and Nevis will be benefitted from this investment. The agriculture sector will be flourished with these seedlings. Such initiatives reflect upon the commitment and dedication of the Agriculture Ministry, who supports the country to fulfil its goal of food sustainability.
In addition, the fishermen of the country have earned over fifteen million dollars, last year. The Ministry of Agriculture considered the amount as the highest on record, corresponding to last 10 years.
He is actively participating in the events of agriculture and offers various opportunities to the local farmers and fishermen, who are working around the clock to meet the goal of food security. Considerably, this is also a part of 25 by 25 agenda.
About 25 by 2025 Agenda
The 25 by 25 initiative has come into the action with a goal to reduce the food import bills by 25 per cent till year 2025 in the fishery and agriculture sector on national as well as regional level to attain food sufficiency.
It is to be noted that the initiative was launched in July 21, 2023 by the Minister of Agriculture Duggins and Eric Evelyn, a Minister of Agriculture in NIA. They are working continuously in their respective ministries for the fulfilment of this aim.
Duggins and Evelyn are leaving no stone unturned in taking proactive measures towards the food security in the twin-island Federation.
As world is experiencing a challenges like climate change and food security, the government of St. Kitts and Nevis is taking bold steps to address these concerns.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
