On Tuesday 13th June the Enhancing the Efficiency of Production-Distribution Supply Chain in the Fruit and Vegetable Sector in St. Lucia (7Crop Project) hosted a farmers training in the cultivation of okra on the Union Demonstration Farm. A total of twenty-five (25) farmers and extension officers participated in the training. Representatives from Massy Stores also joined in at the training. The farmers were educated on two specific varieties of okra that are not conventional to St. Lucia; Carmin Splendor (red variety) and Liv (green variety). These varieties are known to be more prolific than the local variety. Some information as to the purchasing of okra was given by the Massy representative; as to what the market needs are and the fact that currently there is a shortage in the supply but the demand is quite high. Also, there is a need for farmers to push more value added to this product, especially as a packaged and frozen product.

Additionally, there was another component to the training where the participants were given three (3) recipes for the preparation of the okra, namely; Okra salad, Scalded okra, and Okra tempura. The dishes were prepared onsite and subsequently, the participants got to taste. Feedback was given on each dish. A flyer containing the three (3) dishes was handed to each participant. Lastly, the participants received seeds from both varieties for trial on their respective farmers. If they are successful in producing the crop and they are interested in increasing the capacity, they can purchase seedlings at the subsidized price of $0.20 per seedling through the project.

The training was facilitated by Mr. Eric Chen; a Production Specialist on the project while the dishes were prepared by Mr. Wu Chia Jui; an intern from Taiwan.