Some twenty-five local farmers attended a training workshop on Wednesday that
exposed them to the do’s and don’ts of both broccoli and cauliflower production.
Organised by the Extension Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and held at the
PDO building on Joseph’s Road, the training was conducted by technicians of the
Long Ping Agricultural project underway here in Antigua and Barbuda.
“We are trying to increase the production of these crops, especially broccoli as we
noticed that because it is largely imported, the price on the local market is ‘quite
high’. We feel that if we are able to beef up production that would in time bring
down the cost of the item on the supermarket shelves,” Chief Extension Officer,
Owolabi Elabanjo stated.
He added that this concern rises to the level of the prime minister who has
indicated that he would wish to see farmers shift or expand their production to
include broccoli.
“The Chinese company – Long Ping – has demonstrated that broccoli can be
successfully grown here and the workshop was the division’s way to transfer the
knowledge and know-how from the Chinese to local farmers,” he added.
Th workshop covered all aspects of the production, management and the selection
of all varieties of the crop. Seedlings were handed out to the attendees and as part
of the training they were given a tour of the Chinese-run farm at Greencastle where
broccoli is already in production.
