The Ministry of Agriculture and the Taiwan Technical Mission have teamed up to provide essential training to students at Babonneau Secondary School in St. Lucia, with the aim of enhancing the efficiency of local produce production and distribution, and promoting sustainable agriculture practices to address food security concerns.

With the goal of addressing the critical concerns of food security and waste reduction of locally grown produce, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Taiwan Technical Mission through the” Enhancement of the Efficiency of the Production-Distribution Supply Chain of the Fruit and Vegetable Project (7 Crop Project)” hosted a training session on dehydration of local produce for students of the Babonneau Secondary School.

The training session focused on various aspects of agro-processing, including the production of candied fruits and vegetables. Students were provided with hands-on training and practical demonstrations to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to produce high-quality processed foods.

According to the project coordinator of the 7 Crop Project, Adline Eudovic the training session holds significant importance in the project’s efforts to improve the supply chain for local fruits and vegetables. She says that given the escalating demand for food and the necessity to minimize waste, St. Lucia’s agricultural industry must adopt inventive and sustainable approaches to ensure food security.

“Right now we are in the second phase of the Seven Crops Project and in the first phase we realized that there are some areas of shortcomings where we had to expand and extend to assistance to the farmers to actualize their full potential from the crops that they have on the farms. An area that we see was absolutely necessary was agro-processing. We are targeting these clusters cause they already have the equipment and certain no how in agro-processing, so what we are doing here is to build their capacity in putting value added to the crops that are readily available and crops that go to waste”

The facilitator of the training session attached to the Taiwan Technical Mission, Gary Wu expressed his contentment with the student’s level of interest and receptiveness during the training. He further emphasized that the knowledge and skills gained by the students could serve as an inspiration for them to pursue careers in the agro-processing industry.

“I taught them about the dehydration techniques, as it’s a very common technique that we always use in food processing because it helps the product to expand its shelf life and gives it better preservation by removing the water from the fruit. I think the students can learn some very useful ideas and techniques from these lessons. Dehydration can be done in a very simple way like sun drying or over drying, so even though they don’t have professional machines like industrial used dehydrator machines, they can use perform the dehydration techniques in their house.”

The collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Taiwan Technical Mission showcases the government’s unwavering dedication to promoting sustainable agricultural practices and attaining food security objectives in St. Lucia. Empowering the upcoming generation of farmers and entrepreneurs with the essential skills and knowledge to produce top-notch processed fruits and vegetables establishes the groundwork for a more sustainable agricultural sector in the nation.