Seventy-six (76) farmers from some of Saint Lucia’s agricultural regions have graduated from a recently-held six-week capacity building Farmers Workshop aimed at ensuring they keep abreast with innovative agricultural techniques. The graduates included six interns from Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC).

The Farmers Workshop was organized by the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) in Saint Lucia in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, under the “Enhancement of the Efficiency of Production-Distribution Supply Chain in Fruit and Vegetable Sector Project (Second Phase)”, commonly known as the “Seven Crops Project”.

Held annually, the Farmers Workshop focuses on sharing entry-level practical skills and knowledge with new farmers. At these workshops, experts and farmers have the opportunity to share their experiences on areas such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), pesticide safety, crop cultivation and management, fertilizer use, organic farming, post-harvest techniques, marketing, and smart agriculture.

This year, a record-breaking number of participants graduated from the workshop, including 40 farmers from the workshop held at Union, and 36 farmers from the workshop held in Soufriere.

A special recognition and certificate ceremony was held on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the Union Orchid Gardens, where participants were congratulated for their efforts and encouraged to use the knowledge they gained for greater efficiency of their businesses.

In her brief remarks, H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, noted that the high level of participation in this year’s workshop was extremely encouraging. She said it demonstrated that there is a growing interest in agriculture, and that more people, especially the youths, are willing to invest their time in developing their skills in agriculture. She also said they are the driving force making a difference for the future of agriculture and food security in Saint Lucia.

“To attend the workshop lasting six weeks requires commitment and persistence,” Ambassador Su said. “Today’s presentation of certificates is in recognition of your dedication to have made it to the very last session of the workshop. We are happy to see that you stuck through the end, because you have created for yourselves more windows of opportunity.”

Ambassador Su shared that the Technical Mission plans to organize more exciting workshops for farmers from September to October, including crop demonstrations featuring new varieties such as smaller watermelons and bi-colour sweet corn. She added that the introduction of these new varieties is intended to explore more marketing opportunities and to increase agricultural competitiveness.

“The new varieties that our Taiwan Technical Mission introduces here are all natural,” she assured. “So there is no need to worry, because we have never and will never introduce any genetically modified crops into Saint Lucia.”

Ambassador Su thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for their continued partnership and support. She also thanked the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College for facilitating the interns to join the programme, and the Youth Economy Agency (YEA) for recommending young farmers to participate in the workshop. She said their support helps encourage the younger generation to consider farming and agri-business as a career and business pathway.

Hon. John Paul Estephane, Minister in the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Heritage, and Parliamentary Representative for Babonneau, thanked the Taiwan Technical Mission and Government of Taiwan for their partnership with the Government and people of Saint Lucia.

He explained that to be successful today, farmers cannot concentrate only how much is produced, but that they must also pay attention to what is produced, how efficiently it is produced, the quality of the production, how it is packaged and sold, how quickly it reaches the market, and whether production responds to actual consumer demands.

“We can grow the finest fruits and vegetables, but if we lose too much between the farm and the market, the farmer loses income,” Hon. Estephane said. “If transportation and distribution are inefficient, the farmer loses income. If there is no coordination between production and market demand, the farmer will lose opportunities. Therefore, strengthening the entire value chain – from production to distribution to the final consumer – is essential in building a modern and profitable agricultural sector.”

Hon. Estephane encouraged the graduates to consider themselves not only farmers, but also agricultural entrepreneurs. He noted that the Ministry of Commerce is trying to get more people into the entrepreneurial spirit.

“We want to build businesses, and the agricultural business is one of those that we want people to engage in, and the Government is providing a lot of support for small business development,” he said.

The feature address was delivered by Mr. Bradley St. Ange, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Sustainable Development, who also congratulated the graduates.

Mr. St. Ange said encourage his Ministry’s mandate for food security includes encouraging young people to become farmers, noting that the average farmer population is between 55 and 60 years old.

“For us to ensure that our food is secure in Saint Lucia, with all that’s happening around the world, we need to bring in the young persons,” he said.

Mr. St. Ange said workshop participants came from farming communities across Cul de Sac, Bexon, Marc, Babonneau, and Soufriere, spanning Agricultural Regions One and Two (Babonneau and Gros Islet), and Regions Six and Eight. This broad participation, he said, demonstrates that farmers from across Saint Lucia remain willing to learn, adapt, and strengthen local food production.

“Over the past six weeks, this programme focused not simply on increasing production, but also on helping our farmers gain a deeper understanding of how to produce efficiently, more safely, more sustainably, and importantly, more profitably,” Mr. St. Ange explained.

He added: “We often speak about food security, and rightly so. But we must place the challenge before us into perspective. Saint Lucia’s annual food import bill stands at a staggering EC$565 million, and this is not good. This amount of money can do a lot: we can redirect these funds elsewhere if we have this money in our coffers. We cannot be expending this money overseas.”

Mr. Brent Theophile, National Specialist of the IICA Delegation in Saint Lucia, shared that farmers play an important role in everyday life and the local economy. He said they contribute to people’s culture, health, well-being, and quality of life.

“For our local economy, maybe more than any other economic agent, you make the most significant impact and contribution to our local economy,” Mr. Theophile stated. “Through the direct contributions of your efforts, the indirect spillovers, and all the other ways in which your investments contribute to the local economy creates new opportunities, jobs, and potential for other sectors.”

Mr. Theophile told the graduates that while the agricultural sector might be the most demanding of all applied fields, they nevertheless bear the responsibility of using the technical knowledge they gain to make firm decisions.

Meanwhile, Mr. Daniel Lee, Chief of Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) in Saint Lucia, said the recognition and certificate ceremony was not only an opportunity to recognize the commitment of local farmers and interns, but to also celebrate the continued partnership between Saint Lucia and Taiwan.