The youngest participant in the 2020 Grow Barbados Challenge, Jaina Sylvester, who grew a number of crops, with Adrian Reid, Co-Founder of Victory Gardens Caribbean.
The eight-week 2020 Grow Barbados Challenge recently wrapped up and already, Adrian Reid, Co-Founder of Victory Gardens Caribbean which launched the initiative, is looking forward to helping more first time gardeners grow their own crops, in phase two of the project.
In the interest of food security and to help Barbados reduce its high food import bill, Victory Gardens Caribbean, in partnership with FarmFinder and the National Conservation Commission (NCC), launched the challenge.
Just yesterday in a closing ceremony at the NCC, the winners, which included both children and adults, were announced and lauded for their efforts in battling various agricultural challenges as they grew crops such as lettuce, Chinese cabbage, okras and cucumbers. They received vouchers from sponsors such as Massy Farm and Garden, Seedburst Nurseries, Nature Care, Carter’s General Store and Landmark Nurseries, which they can redeem in-store.
“We have finally come to the end of the 2020 Grow Barbados Challenge by Victory Gardens, FarmFinder and the NCC and we have our winners, eight participants who were successful over eight weeks, in trying to grow their crops as backyard gardeners. We actually had kids involved in this as well. Our youngest child was six-years-old. So we are just hopeful for the next generation after us, to continue the legacy of growing food,” Reid remarked.
He meanwhile noted that Victory Gardens and its partners are looking forward to phase two of the initiative, which will come off in November and which will see about 200 participants who would have joined the challenge, also doing their part to grow food and cut down on the island’s food import bill.
The youngest participant, Jaina Sylvester, who grew a number of crops but who won first place for her crop of lettuce, said she enjoyed the challenge which she completed with her mother Philipa Sylvester, who won first place for her cucumber crop.
Adult participant Sherry Coleman, who won first place for her okra crop, meanwhile noted that she intends to continue growing her own food, following such a successful challenge.