{"id":11725,"date":"2024-11-16T15:33:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T15:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/?p=11725"},"modified":"2024-11-16T15:34:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T15:34:29","slug":"hybrid-pepper-training-ends-on-a-hot-note-by-brent-simon-and-carol-faye-bynoe-george","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/2024\/11\/16\/hybrid-pepper-training-ends-on-a-hot-note-by-brent-simon-and-carol-faye-bynoe-george\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid Pepper Training ends on a Hot Note by Brent Simon and Carol-Faye Bynoe-George"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Antigua and Barbuda recently celebrated the successful conclusion of its first national groundbreaking training program on hybrid pepper breeding, seed production, and advanced cultivation technologies. Facilitated by the Long Ping agricultural experts originating from China, this initiative which holds great promise for enhancing the nation\u2019s agricultural output and food security, was marked by a vibrant closing ceremony attended by His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams\/Governor General, government officials, participants, and representatives from the People\u2019s republic of China.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The ceremony featured a series of acknowledgements and reflections on the importance of this project and others like it, highlighting its role in transforming Antigua\u2019s agriculture sector. The Chairperson of the ceremony, Mrs. Maudvere Bradford\/Senior Research Officer for the Ministry of Agriculture within the Cotton\/Crop Research Division, opened the event by welcoming attendees and setting the atmosphere for an afternoon focused on the program\u2019s achievements and future impact.<\/div>\n
Mr Walter Christopher\/Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasised the programs significance for Antigua\u2019s food security and the livelihoods of its farmers. He voiced an appeal and desire to increase the input of the agricultural sector from 2-3% to 5-7% of the national GDP by the end of 2025. Since there is a demand for high quality and larger quantity of locally grown produce. He felt that these initiatives will play a key role in empowering farmers to adopt sustainable and productive agricultural practices, ensuring long term resilience and food independence. Additionally, He also referenced the fact that great opportunities are available to merge agricultural efforts with the needs of the tourism sector on a deeper level.<\/div>\n
Representing the Long Ping Corporation, Mr. Chen Xiaoliang\/Manager of the International Training Centre, shared insights into the training activities, which focused on the latest techniques in hybrid pepper breeding and sustainable crop production. Mr. Xiaoliang expressed with pride in the achievements of the participants and gratitude for the opportunity to support Antigua\u2019s agricultural Growth.<\/div>\n
Ambassador Zhang Yan Ling of the Peoples Republic of China, also addressed the gathering, reaffirming China\u2019s commitment to supporting Antigua\u2019s agricultural sector. She noted the importance of this collaboration in strengthening the ties between the two countries, promoting mutual development through knowledge sharing and technical assistance. The Ambassador indicated that developing countries will continue to benefit positively from, The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI,) which is a massive infrastructure project that China launched in 2013 to improve connectivity and cooperation across continents.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The feature address done by the Governor General and it focused on Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s relationship with the People\u2019s Republic of China in agricultural support. Sir Williams was instrumental in forming this bond between the countries as he is signatory to the initial discussions and agreements. Noting that these have developed very positive outcomes for our nation. He encouraged the Permanent Secretary to press towards his goal of achieving 5-7% input from the agricultural sector to the overall GDP, by year end, 2025.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Three of the participants in the persons of, Mr. Denis Seon, Livingstone Morgan and Rennice Nicholas, shared the heartfelt testimonies of their experiences during training. They lauded the Chinese facilitators for their thorough, hands-on instruction and they were enthusiastic about applying their newly acquired knowledge to improve local crop yields. The skills gained in hybrid pepper breeding will enable farmers to produce more resilient, higher yielding pepper varieties, an essentials step towards enhancing food quality and agricultural productivity in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. Owolabi Elabanga\/Chief Extension Officer of the Agricultural Extension Division, who has been instrumental in facilitating knowledge exchange between the two nations. His remarks were followed by the presentation of certificates, prizes, and gifts by the Governor General, Mr. Chen Xiaoliang, Ambassador Zhang, and the Permanent Secretary. Participants also presented tokens of appreciation to the Chinese delegation, expressing deep gratitude for the valuable skills and friendships formed during the training.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Antigua and Barbuda recently celebrated the successful conclusion of its first national groundbreaking training program on hybrid pepper breeding, seed production, and advanced cultivation technologies. Facilitated by the Long Ping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-notices"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11725"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11736,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11725\/revisions\/11736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}