Regional sweet potato value chain project completes training

Orange Hill Agriculture Biotechnology Centre hosted the closing ceremony of the training course on “Production and Management of Disease Free Sweet Potato Planting Material”, which was a critical component of the regional sweet potato value chain improvement and technology transfer project.

On the final day, participants took part in a range of activities including a lecture on caring for sweet potato plants in a nursery, collecting planting material, testing procedures and country-specific presentations on sweet potato cultivation in their respective countries. Participants also took a tour of the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute’s field station near Orange Hill, where they saw many sweet potato varieties.

The day ended with a ceremonial closing ceremony, marking the end of the program.

This event gave participants the opportunity to be recognized for their efforts and achievements. During the ceremony, participants from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Belize, the Cayman Islands and Grenada received certificates of participation. Participants expressed their gratitude and shared the knowledge and skills they acquired during the three-day training.

Hon. Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour, congratulated the participants on their commitment and stressed the importance of their training. He also provided insights into future collaborations and projects with the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

Donwa Jackson, CARDI Representative for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Reginald Andall, CARDI Representative for Grenada and Project Coordinator, and Dr. Oral Daley, Project Manager for Component 2 of the Department of Food and Production, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, all made noteworthy remarks.

These speakers highlighted the importance of the training and how it will benefit sweet potato farming in their respective countries.

This training was a joint effort between CARDI and the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, with funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

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