Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere is optimistic about utilizing the potential within the Aquaponics industry to create livelihoods for people, and in particular, help single mothers eke out a living.
Speaking to reporters, this week, the minister said, upon assuming ministerial duties he focused on the area of aquaponics. He also held dialogue with the Taiwanese on “really moving” this field as a sub-sector of the overall agricultural thrust on the island.
He explained that aquaponics does not require large land space to develop and can be easily undertaken in one’s backyard.
“It’s a simple system … the single mothers, and the unemployed can go into that area, because it’s a food source for us,” noted Prospere.
“It can be a source of employment, especially for our single women,” he added. The minister disclosed that this week, he was due to address a forum that involves a group of people being trained by the Taiwanese in the area of aquaponics.
They were due to receive their Certificate in Aquaponics, on Thursday, during a ceremony at the Fisheries Complex.
According to the minister, “This is just a start, but I feel it’s an area of focus that we really have to push into (our) agricultural sector. Because it is very important for our food security and to be able to impact the livelihoods of our people in Saint Lucia.”
Referring to the agro-processing component in the sector, in a bid to sustain and expand the island’s food chain, Prospere stated that there are about 80 individuals or entities involved in the field of agro-processing here.
“Our sea moss, our breadfruit and other fruits like mangoes, citrus, and coconuts are some of the by-products that the ministry is pushing for production on a regular basis. Last year, we had a Banana Festival, a Mango Festival, a Sea Moss Festival and we are hoping to have a Cacao Festival this year, and a Coconut Festival,” he said.
“All of this is to really expose (promote) our agro-processing using our fruits, local fruits to convert it into something that we can use,” added Prospere. “Too often, we see our fruits leave here …for instance, our bananas leave here and go overseas and then they use our very own bananas to produce things like cereals that we have to buy from the supermarket shelves.”
He noted: “My vision for the agro-processing sub sector is really for us to be able to do a lot of promotion, branding and even marketing what we process, not just in Saint Lucia but in the region.
“I would like to see that when visitors come to Saint Lucia …we can get somewhere where all of our people involved in agro-processing can be in one place.”
Prospere is determined to see this initiative come through, stating that such an enterprise would allow persons to go purchase “anything made out of honey, out of cacao and other items …and that be really good to boost that sub sector. It is very important, since we produce a lot of crops and fruits”.
He added: “This is my vision for the agricultural sub sector. I really want to encourage persons to take advantage of these opportunities…especially, through the Youth Economy, our young people can target the Youth Economy and be able to get monies to be able to go into agro-processing and do the branding and marketing.
“Our sea moss is considered to be one of the best in the world, this is a time for us to transform the raw materials into processed products. So , I really want to see our sea moss producers , not just focus on growing the sea moss in the ocean and sell to the exporters, but really use it locally and get into the sea moss drink, the sea moss wine and all of that can be produced here and sent to the region for sale.”
Prospere said departments like the Ministry of Commerce through its Small Loans Facility provides assistance to small businesses and micro enterprises, and the Saint Lucia Development Bank (SLDB) gives support to young people as well “so the Youth Economy and the Ministry of Commerce …are available for financial support to assist our young people in going in that direction.”