Farmers assisting in clearing the plot of land on September 27, 2012.
Photo Credit: BVI Platinum News
Farmers assisting in clearing the plot of land on September 27, 2012.
Photo Credit: BVI Platinum News
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour has granted local group, Farmers On The Move the permission to use a plot of land at Paraquita Bay to kick start an agricultural project. The initiative is a continuation of the group´s August Agricultural Short Course where 15 persons were sensitized towards food security with emphasis on a sustainable perspective.
President of Farmers On The Move, Khoy Smith who was on hand at the quarter acre of land at Paraquita Bay today, told BVI Platinum News that it is the practical aspect of the training.
He said it´s a phase of Farmers On the Move ultimate plan for the Paraquita Bay area which is to revolutionize the area with the permission of government.
Smith said they will use this model project to show government what they can do to achieve their goal.
"There are 15 students, and what we want to do is have every student be a specialist in an area of crop production whether tomatoes, eggplant, ochra, cucumber, and pumpkin. We have a list of crash crop that we want the guys to actually specialize in. So this whole plot is going to be only for eggplant, and then after we have saturated it; hoping by then the government will find it fit to give us more land moving to the next area where we will have a specializing of tomatoes," he said.
Smith explained that with this project, all the farmers will be stakeholders and ultimately take up ownership for their specialized area.
"So you will have about 15 plots with the brothers being the stakeholders. The goal here is really, instead of giving a guy a fish, you teaching him to fish...So each of the guys will be stakeholders in the agriculture industry, so they will be employed..."
The land being cleared on September 27, 2012.
Photo Credit: BVI Platinum News
The land being cleared on September 27, 2012.
Photo Credit: BVI Platinum News
He added, "As I said, at the end government hopefully will allow us to have a permanent stay on the property to continue agricultural production so with that in mind at the end of the whole operation once we get the 15 variety of crash crop established we will now allot each plot to individuals based on their passionate interest whether ochra, cucumber etc."
Smith said the tools being used are provided by Farmers On The Move but they are hoping that down the line government will offer subsidy.
"We are trying to tell government give the young brothers and sisters who have an interest in agriculture the resources to produce don´t put them on a waiting list which is the norm, give them the opportunity," he said.
When asked if he was surprised with the move by government to give them permission to use the land, he said, "To me I didn't see much of a choice because if you have young guys who are at risk, and these are at risk guys, they don´t have anything to do, they can find other means to survive. So what would government say? They left with no other choice but to let them occupy themselves in a productive way."
Good work!!!!