Published 5 February 2022
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St.Kitts and Nevis News Source
The Ministry of Agriculture held fruitful discussions with several women in farming that outlined a range of measures to support local women’s participation in the agricultural sector.
The discussion came as the ministry noticed an increase in women’s interest in agriculture over the second half of 2021 following the Women’s Farmers Academy six week virtual training held by Helen’s Daughters out of St. Lucia and the Food4Change Organisation.
The Ministry of Agriculture then partnered with the Ministry of Health to find strategies that would get women in St. Kitts more actively involved with agriculture.
Friday’s meeting was held to offer support to women through the Ministry of Agriculture’s Farmers Assistance Programme to incentivise women within the Federation.
Permanent Secretary Ron Dublin Collins said, “In meeting with the women today, a number of decisions were made. We will be hosting on the International Women’s Day a Women in Agriculture Conference to look at women in fisheries, crop production, agro processing and livestock production.”
He added that the women agreed to form a network to work in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and the formation of the network would be a St. Kitts Nevis chapter of the current Caribbean organisation dubbed the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers.
The Food4Change Organisation which is a four year data gathering body that looks at interventions in St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica to combat Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) in collaboration with Helen’s Daughters used the opportunity to hold the training programme for women in the final quarter of last year.
The women involved received certificates in December of 2021.
