{"id":14442,"date":"2025-07-04T19:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T19:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/?p=14442"},"modified":"2025-07-04T19:59:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T19:59:00","slug":"piango-fest-2025-officially-launched-with-a-call-to-keep-the-sector-aliveby-brent-simon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/2025\/07\/04\/piango-fest-2025-officially-launched-with-a-call-to-keep-the-sector-aliveby-brent-simon\/","title":{"rendered":"Piango Fest 2025 Officially Launched with a Call to \u201cKeep the Sector Alive\u201dby Brent Simon"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. John\u2019s, Antigua \u2013 July 4, 2025<\/em>
\nFarmers, agro-processors, government officials, and fruit lovers gathered at Judgment Square this morning for the official launch of Piango Fest 2025<\/strong>. The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was filled with vibrant displays, local produce, and optimism for the future of Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Agriculture. Delivering the feature address, Hon. Minister of Agriculture Lands Fisheries and the Blue Economy,Anthony Smith Jr.<\/strong> acknowledged the farmers and stakeholders present, calling them \u201cdefenders of our food security.\u201d He extended a warm welcome to all and expressed his joy at launching what he described as a vital event in the island\u2019s agricultural calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks a significant step in our journey to keeping the sector alive,\u201d the Minister said. \u201cOur theme this year\u2014Plant, Peel, Process<\/em>\u2014reflects a collective commitment to ensuring that agriculture not only survives but thrives.\u201dFormerly known as Mango Fest, the event was rebranded in 2019<\/strong> to \u201cPiango Fest\u201d to reflect the dual focus on mangoes and pineapples<\/strong>\u2014especially the Antigua\u2019s iconic Black Pineapple. \u201cThis hybrid celebration gives us a chance to showcase the full value of what we grow, from the tree to the table,\u201d the Minister explained.<\/p>\n

Despite setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, this marks the second Piango Fest since the event’s post-pandemic revival<\/strong>, and organizers are keen to make it a permanent fixture once again. This year\u2019s festival, set for August 17 at Cades Bay Agricultural Station<\/strong>, will highlight local ingenuity with a range of value-added products derived from mangoes and pineapples: jams, jellies, sauces, pastries, wines, juices, and more. \u201cOur local varieties are a testament to the richness of our land\u2014the growing sweetness of our mangoes, and the world-renowned Antigua Black pineapple,\u201d Minister Smith said.<\/p>\n

He also credited the government, the Ministry of Agriculture, and partner organization IICA<\/strong> for their support in revitalizing the Antigua Black pineapple industry<\/strong>, particularly through ongoing work at Cades Bay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Minister Smith shared a remarkable update on the pineapple multiplication program: \u201cWe started with just 25 samples from local farmers, which we sent to St. Vincent for tissue culture. Those 25 became 15,000<\/strong>, and with planting and replanting, that number will keep multiplying.\u201d<\/p>\n

The launch was a celebration of resilience, collaboration, and renewed agricultural pride. With Piango Fest 2025 just weeks away, all eyes now turn to Cades Bay<\/strong>\u2014where the sweetness of the land and the spirit of the people will be on full display.<\/p>\n

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St. John\u2019s, Antigua \u2013 July 4, 2025 Farmers, agro-processors, government officials, and fruit lovers gathered at Judgment Square this morning for the official launch of Piango Fest 2025. The event, […]<\/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":[20,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iica","category-news-notices"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14442","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=14442"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14621,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14442\/revisions\/14621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}