The Ministry of Agriculture announced recently its plan to secure food for the population in the event that COVID-19 negatively affects our food supply.
The Ministry has distributed seedlings and seeds to traditional farmers as well as backyard gardeners and has also begun the propagation of seedlings at agricultural stations across the island. Over one hundred thousand seedlings of leafy and other vegetables has already been produced.
According to Ryan Anselm, Technical Officer of Project and Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, the programme is to guarantee the food security needs of the population and it will target the most vulnerable, for example single households, and will focus on meeting the basic dietary needs of the population.
“We want people to eat safe and nutritious foods and so what the programme entails, we’re going to be propagating seedlings…the essentials to provide the proteins, the vitamins, the minerals, the starch and all the basic diet that a family needs.Anselm says that Ministry encourages interested persons to call their extension officers to benefit from the program. They need to be able to say whether they have space available, a water supply and what gardening system will be implemented.
The numbers to call are 611-3125, 611-3126, 611-3645, 611-3455.
