All Saints Secondary School Students visit CARDI  

On Monday 3rd October 2022, fourth and fifth form students from the All Saints Secondary School visited the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute located at Betty’s Hope, Antigua and Barbuda. At CARDI, they were given a tour of the research station, shown seed production and management, collected cuttings from five sweet potato varieties and collected mulberry planting material. The team at CARDI shared valuable information pertaining to their work program and encouraged the students to apply themselves to agriculture as it remains a vital sector for the nation and the Caribbean.

The group of twenty students, accompanied by five teachers, asked lots of questions because they were intrigued by the information presented. Overall, there was significant interest in the operations at CARDI by both males and females; males comprised the majority of the students however there were more female teachers in attendance.

CARDI, has an opened door policy and invites members of the general public with an interest in agriculture and agro-processing to pay them a visit. At the moment CARDI has a notable sweet potato germplasm which consists of 15 varieties and a seedbank which has seeds such as hot pepper, pumpkin, table squash and corn.

The Institution recently harvested corn and established a plot of Moruga Red hot pepper for the production of seeds. Sweet potato, cassava and pumpkin are some other crops which are also well established at the unit.

CARDI continues to support a range of stakeholders through their efforts at the Antigua and Barbuda unit.