This week, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) celebrates its open-day on December 5, which marks 44 years of its existence.

As part of the commemorative activities, CARDI is currently hosting a two-day seminar which commenced on December 3, at the CARDI Field Station in La Resource, Dennery. CARDI Crop Scientist Andrea Veira, gave an insight into the seminar and what is to come as part of their celebrations.

“We are working with coconuts. Coconuts have been one of the major projects for CARDI between 2014 and 2018 in phase one of the project which is funded by the European Union, ACP and the ITC. So today we will be looking at coconut production and nursery establishment and tomorrow we will be looking at integrated pest management, germplasm and intercropping all to do with coconut plantations, coconut fields, coconut farms and coconut production.

“I would like to invite everyone to our ceremony this Wednesday commemorating CARDI Day. It will be at the CARDI Field Station in La Resource, Dennery from 9:30 a.m. We will be showcasing our work done in 2018 focusing primarily on coconuts but we will also let you know what else we have been working on. We are also going to have some exhibitors showing their products on display, coconut flour, coconut soaps and cosmetics, various different confectionaries and candies so we would like to invite everyone to come out, there will be posters, the school children are also invited.”

CARDI Research Assistant Kwame Adu Gyamfi, said there is a huge prospect for coconut production in Saint Lucia.

“Coconuts have a lot of benefits that people have not discovered and that is what this project is aiming at especially the value addition that people don’t know. Many people think that coconut gives us just the water and the jelly, when we can have arts and crafts from it, it can support the soil system and crop production. There are so many things we can get, we can get confectionaries from it and many people don’t see these things as an addition to what they can get from coconut, so yes at the moment I think that it is booming and it’s going to be one of the leading crops in the country if we pay attention to it.”

CARDI’s week of activities is being held under the theme “Pyé Koko pou Lavi” which English, translates to “Coconut Trees for Life.”