The Ministry of Agriculture is being encouraged to do even more field crop trials.
Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul believes that the more research the Ministry is able to undertake on the crop varieties that are best suited for Barbados, the better prepared and informed local farmers would be.
He was speaking to The Barbados Advocate over the weekend as he referred to the crop trial the Ministry is currently undertaking with respect to romaine lettuce. Paul, noting that the local demand for romaine lettuce continues to rise, maintained that if Barbados could increase its production of romaine lettuce, that would significantly cut down on the quantities that have to be imported into the country and the thousands of dollars spent to do so.
“Expanding the types and quantities of crops grown here is key to helping to plug the outflow of foreign exchange that occurs when we import. So the trials that are conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture are very important, as they are able to identify the varieties that are most amenable to our climate. If they did not undertake such research that would be a cost that the farmers would have to bear on their own and that would negatively impact their ability to operate and to remain competitive,” he said.
As such, he is encouraging the Ministry to expand its scope of trials and help to boost local agricultural production. He made the point while contending that he believes Barbados has the potential to produce a number of crops among them other types of lettuce, English potatoes as well as other varieties of sweet peppers and onions not currently grown here. The BAS official said he looks forward to seeing such work done in these areas going forward. (JRT)