Ministry of Agriculture & Lands– July 07, 2020 –Banana production is on the cusp of resurgence, as the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands implements a pilot project in Grenada, which allows fourteen (14) local farmers to establish one acre each of Tissue Culture Banana Plants.
Over ten thousand (10,000) of the William Variety of Tissue Culture Plantlets were imported from Israel, last December, for injection into local production. These plantlets were then prepared, cared, and hardened off at the Maran Plant Propagation Station, for distribution to farmers. On Thursday 25th June, the Ministry handed over these plants to the farmers at the Maran Plant Propagation station.
“We are trying to bring back the nutrition in our schools and feed our people. We want our people to eat local,” said Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Hon. Yolande Bain-Horsford, who was on hand for the handing over of the plants to farmers.
“This project would be able to help farmers. We are trying to resuscitate the Banana Sector; we don’t want to continue importing bananas from neighboring islands, “she explained further.
Parliamentary Representative for St. John, Hon. Alvin Dabreo, who witnessed the handing over, said that there are tremendous benefits of developing such a sector.
“You can make so many things from it,” Hon. Dabreo said. “You see dried bananas in cereal, they are now making Banana Flour and there are many things you can do from the straw of the banana. It is tremendous, the amount of potential this sector has, and we have to capitalize on that.”
This project forms part of the COVID-19 Response and Mitigation Plan, being implemented by the Ministry. A committee comprising of six (6), from departments including extension, agronomy, land use and pest management, assessed over 50 farms through-out Grenada, belonging to farmers that expressed interest in the plants. The committee then shortlisted a total of fourteen farmers that met the criteria to receive the plants.
Claudius Pierre, involved in banana production for over thirty (30) years, welcomed the donation.
“This is a step in the right direction, as it enhances our food security. It also urges us, banana farmers, to continue farming. We have experienced the Moko Disease with our Bananas in past years, so tissue culture is always welcomed by us.”
“We know that we have clean plant, so, we do not have to worry about the Moko Disease. The six hundred (600) plants will indeed give us a big push,” explained another farmer, Ron Alexander.
The disease-free plants will aid in resuscitating the banana industry, which has been negatively affected due to the Black Sigatoka and other pests. The Ministry is aiming for the multiplication of the disease-free crops that can be distributed to additional farmers.
Before the distribution of the plants, the Ministry conducted two separate sessions of training for the benefiting farmers. Each farmer received a total of six hundred (600) plantlets for propagation, while a further two acres are being prepared by the Ministry for distribution in the middle of July.
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands – ensuring food and nutrition security for all.
