{"id":15403,"date":"2025-08-01T19:04:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T19:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/?p=15403"},"modified":"2025-08-01T19:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T19:04:54","slug":"sweet-discussions-on-sweet-potato-by-keairra-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/2025\/08\/01\/sweet-discussions-on-sweet-potato-by-keairra-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet discussions on Sweet Potato by Keairra Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

The session opened with a moment of reverence and national pride as Mr. Junior Greene, CARDI Representative for Antigua and Montserrat, gave opening remarks. He spoke about the potential of local agriculture, particularly the sweet potato sector, saying, \u201cWe\u2019re helping share a future where local crops like sweet potato will strive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Gregory Bailey\/Director of Agriculture, Land, Fisheries and the Blue Economy, then delivered remarks. With a sense of optimism, \u201cI wish all of you a very productive session,\u201d encouraging participants to engage fully in the discussions and presentations ahead.\u00a0 Mr. Bailey followed up by highlighting the project\u2019s progress over the years. \u201cThis project has been in action for the last four years, and we\u2019d like to present some of the results from this program,\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Oral Daley, Project Lead from the Department of Food Production at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, then took the floor. \u201cThis is my first time in your lovely country,\u201d he said speaking directly to the youth in the room, he added, \u201cWhen I see young people like you involved in agriculture, I advise you to stay on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, the session opened for comments and questions. Ms. Denise Besai, CARDI Communication Specialist, emphasized the importance of efficiency and growth, posing the challenge: \u201cHow do we become more productive and expand productivity?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Reginald Andall, Project Coordinator, addressed one of the more practical topics of the day, funding. \u201cMoney is the answer to everything,\u201d he said, noting that the project was made possible through a USD $600,000 grant from the Caribbean Development Bank.<\/p>\n

During the Q&A session, participants raised questions about project spending and impact. When asked if there had been a breakthrough, Mr. Andall shared that \u201croughly 8% was spent\u201d.<\/p>\n

Health benefits<\/strong> of sweet potato were also brought to light. Mr. Junior Greene reminded attendees, \u201cSweet potato can reduce diabetes and heart failure.\u201d He reinforced a call \u201cEat what we grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, Mr. Craig Thomas\/IICA National Specialist added that \u201cthere has been a number of projects coming through focusing on sweet potato,\u201d indicating growing interest in the crop across the region.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ika Furgus\/FAO Nnational Correspondent, summed up the mood by saying, \u201cWe look forward to a productive and insightful session,\u201d capturing the collective hope for progress.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Nicolette Francis stated a critical point: \u201cIt\u2019s not only about growing, but eating what we grow,\u201d<\/p>\n

The first formal presentation came from Mr. Reginald Andall, who covered Component #1 of the project. He emphasized the growing importance of sweet potato, noting that it\u2019s now the fifth most important crop in developing countries. The project aimed to assess the status of the sweet potato value chain and explore both regional and international market challenges and opportunities. This was achieved through a detailed on-the-ground survey, stakeholder mapping, and an online environmental analysis.<\/p>\n

Key production statistics (according to FAO data) included:<\/p>\n