{"id":15978,"date":"2025-10-08T20:27:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/?p=15978"},"modified":"2025-10-08T20:27:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:27:05","slug":"local-recognition-for-the-2025-caricom-young-farmer-of-the-year-by-brent-simon-carol-faye-bynoe-george","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/2025\/10\/08\/local-recognition-for-the-2025-caricom-young-farmer-of-the-year-by-brent-simon-carol-faye-bynoe-george\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Recognition for the 2025 Caricom Young Farmer of the Year by Brent Simon & Carol-Faye Bynoe-George"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture held a brief recognition ceremony in the Agriculture Minister\u2019s Office on Friars Hill Road in honor of Mr. Michael Joseph\/Crop Farmer and President of the Antigua and Barbuda Agricultural Forum for Youth (ABAFY).\u00a0 Mr. Joseph recently was named Caricom Young Farmer of the Year<\/strong> at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) which was held last week in St. Kitts.<\/p>\n

In a brief ceremony organized by the (IICA) local office here on Antigua that was hosted by Mr. Craig Thomas\/IICA National Specialist Mr. Joseph not only received commendations but also a monetary award which was a symbol and token of appreciation.<\/p>\n

The event brought together several leaders within the Ministry of Agriculture to include Permanent Secretary Walter Christopher, Director of Agriculture Gregory Bailey, and Mr. Ika Fergus Extension Officer.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Permanent Secretary Christopher commended Mr. Joseph\u2019s boldness, engagement, and passion for agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud of him for being recognized at this level. This is a local recognition ceremony for Mr. Joseph, and we\u2019ll continue to support him \u2014 whether it be with land or other resources \u2014 to ensure he continues to progress as one of the top young farmers, not only in Antigua, but the Caribbean,\u201d Christopher said.<\/p>\n

Director of Agriculture Gregory Bailey emphasized the scale of Joseph\u2019s accomplishment, noting that he competed against top young farmers from across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a testament to Mr. Joseph\u2019s ability to innovate and use technology to transform the agricultural landscape. As you said in your own remarks, this is not just your achievement \u2014 it\u2019s one for youth in Antigua and across the region,\u201d Bailey stated.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Mr. Thomas praised Joseph\u2019s commitment and growth as a young leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met him, he reminded me of myself \u2014 the same drive and love for Agriculture. When we decided to revive the Antigua and Barbuda Agricultural Forum for Youths (ABAFY), his name came up immediately as a potential leader. IICA\u2019s work program is strongly aligned with youth and women in agriculture, and I just want to congratulate him on behalf of IICA and the regional network. In addition to the trophy, he received in Saint Kitts and Nevis, we\u2019re also pleased to make a monetary contribution of US$1,000 to support him in continuing the great work he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the honor, Mr. Michael Joseph described the award as both a milestone and a motivator for greater accomplishments ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big accomplishment, and yes, I\u2019m glad for the recognition. Although it\u2019s a big recognition, it\u2019s just a small step on this long journey. We have much greater things to accomplish in the future \u2014 especially the reduction of the national food import bill, which we\u2019re going to tackle soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what advice he would share with other young people interested in agriculture, Joseph offered a simple but powerful message:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have interest, or even if you\u2019re not too sure, don\u2019t wait for the perfect time to start \u2014 there\u2019s no perfect time to start anything. Just start, even if it\u2019s small. You expand and grow as you progress. Don\u2019t be afraid to fail \u2014 failure early only teaches you, and the key thing is learning from your experiences and continuing to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceremony served as a proud national moment, recognizing Mr. Joseph\u2019s leadership and dedication to youth in agriculture \u2014 a testament to the growing role of young innovators shaping the future of \u201cFOOD SECURITY\u201d<\/strong> in Antigua and Barbuda and the wider Caribbean.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture held a brief recognition ceremony in the Agriculture Minister\u2019s Office on Friars Hill Road in honor of Mr. Michael Joseph\/Crop Farmer and President […]<\/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-15978","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\/15978","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=15978"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15988,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15978\/revisions\/15988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}