Passion fruit program excelling in Kalinago territory

 

DOMINICA:  Government continues to identify cash crops and assist farmers to maximize production by providing inputs and technical assistance for their farms. One such crop is passion fruit.
Growing passion fruit as a way of life is proving to be fruitful for at least 35 farmers in the Kalinago Territory.
These farmers were trained and given technical assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture under the Support to Horticulture Programme.
On Wednesday April 20^th, the Agriculture Division toured passion fruit farms in the Kalinago Territory to see their progress first-hand.
Jason Bruno, Coordinator of the Support to Horticulture Programme in the Division of Agriculture informed that the programme “has been implemented over a five year period. We have crops such as dasheen, yams and sweet potatoes, Tania and ginger under this program. We are looking for farmers who have registered farms and a produce seller I.D and interested in growing a particular crop. We work with them and we set targets with them and support them with the program.”
The programme, which started three years ago in the Kalinago Territory, was initially unsuccessful. Access to planting material was cited as one of the hindrances to the productivity of farmers in the area.
The Support to Horticulture Programme solved this problem by investing in one farmer who is responsible for propagating and providing farmers in the area with seedlings.
In order to qualify to be in the program, one must agree to plant no less than half an acre of the fruit and must also be certified as a farmer. Currently, farmers in the Kalinago Territory have planted 16 acres of passion fruit and are planning to expand.