St Kitts and Nevis: Farmer Iteana Pemberton highlights crop production through 25 by 25 agenda

St Kitts and Nevis: Experienced Crop Farmer Iteana Pemberton recently provided the updates on the 25 by 25 agenda in a video shared by the Agricultural Ministry on social media. The farmer stated that the progress she has achieved has benefitted her in the overall crop production.

Pemberton who has been farming for the last 40 years, stated that the solar fencing and ground cover that she received from the Department of Agriculture acted as a big support, helping her create fruitful results in production. 

The farmer highlighted that her farms are located in hilly areas, and the most concerning issue remains for her is monkeys, who often damage the young seedlings and mature fruits. Under the initiative, the received support from the government helped her sustain her production, through better protection from foraging.

Pemberton notably, cultivates cucumber, pumpkin, bees, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, watermelon, and more. She added that the art of farming and cultivating was rooted in her early age as she often visited the farms with her mother, where she learned the traditional techniques.

The island nation of St Kitts and Nevis is notably making great progress under their 25 by 25 agenda, which was launched by CARICOM to sustain healthy agricultural practices across the Caribbean Islands. 

Another significant achievement and contribution was made by farmer Evan Daniel. The farmer received support from the authorities in the form of seedlings and drip line which resulted in a positive outcome for him. This helped him achieve increased yields, ultimately creating food security across the region. 

WHAT IS 25 BY 25 AGENDA?

The initiative which is aimed at reducing food imports by 2025, has an ultimate aim to reduce them by 25% by 2025. This will help flourish the local economy, and create fruitful employment opportunities across the Caribbean through enhanced inter-regional trade. 

The focus areas led under the 25 by 25 agenda are to secure better participation of the private sector to facilitate agri-food trade, increase the availability of alternate transportation services to improve the transportation and logistics throughout the region, implement an E-Agricultural Strategy to digitize the world of agriculture across the region and improving trade opportunities through thorough revision of the existing rules. 

">

These focus areas will create a wider and more proactive approach for creating a sustainable agricultural system by prioritizing one over the other. The major commodities, prioritized under the 25 by 25 agenda are Poultry meat, Hatching Eggs, Corn and Soya, Rice, Other Meat (Small Ruminant, Beef, and Pork), Niche Vegetables and other Non-Traditional Crops, Coconuts, Fruits, Roots Crops, Herbs and Spices.

The initiative has been created to strengthen the implementation of the project. A special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security (MTF) has been led for the same. This includes Ministers of Agriculture from throughout the region who have a monthly meeting to discuss the ongoing advancements and transformation curated under this initiative. 

The wider goal of this agenda is to create possible opportunities for interregional trade and create wealth and economic opportunity for every CARICOM member state. As farmer Iteana Pemberton is still continuing her passion after 40 years of cultivating and creating fruitful results, it is expected that the initiative will look for an enhanced involvement of the youth in the future.