The Ministry of Agriculture is spearheading a move to revive the Antigua Black
pineapple and to have it trademarked and branded as such.
Former Agriculture Minister, now Senator, Samantha Marshall, said the ministry is
carrying out research in the laboratory to determine the genetic makeup of the
original Antigua Black pineapple and to find ways to have it propagated locally.
Sen. Marshall recalls that there have been problems with the plant including areas
where the fruit has been grown for generations. These problems became known for
quite a while as the former UPP Agriculture Minister, Hilson Baptiste, had even
attempted to remove the planting of the fruit from Cades Bay to a location in the
east of the island. This however failed to materialize.
“The project failed because the soil type was not appropriate for pineapple
cultivation. This can be confirmed by the technicians in the ministry. People need
to be rational and think this through; why would he (Baptiste) want to move the
project from Cades Bay to the eastern side of the island? Obviously, there were
serious challenges at that time at Cades Bay, about which they became aware.
There are a lot of issues; in terms of the use of fertilizers and how persons have
been using or abusing the fertilizers and what has happened to the quality of soil as
a result,” she remarked.
According to Sen. Marshall, these issues have now affected the pineapple produced
from the area which is not quite as big or as succulent as the pineapples produced
previously.
She said the matter is now being researched in a project being done by the ministry
with assistance from the AU Food and Agricultural Organisation. “We are now
trademarking and patenting our Antigua Black pineapple. We are utilizing lab
resources here in Antigua and Barbuda to look at the genetic brand to ensure that
what we have when we do the replanting at Cades Bay is the authentic Antigua
Black pineapple,” she stated.
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