(Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 25, 2021):
Farmers and fishers were notably honoured for their outstanding contribution to food security during the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources Annual Food Heroes Prize giving ceremony, held at the St. Kitts Marriot Resort on Friday October 22.
The fishers and farmers were referred to as ‘Food Heroes’ persevered through an extremely challenging pandemic which affected agricultural and fisheries sectors globally.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Mr. Ron Dublin-Collins gave welcome and opening remarks while FAO National Correspondent and Director of the Department of Marine Resources, Dr. Marc Williams delivered brief remarks.
In his feature presentation, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Hon. Alexis Jeffers highlighted the importance of food security and sustainability.
Awards were then presented in three categories; Crop division, Livestock division and Fisheries.
Under the Livestock Division, Terrance Decosta was named Best Cattle Farmer, Cervin Bradshaw- Best Pig Farmer, Neil Mitchell- Best Small Ruminant Farmer, Marvin Harrigan- Best Poultry Farmer while Michael Bridgewater was awarded the title Best Rabbit farmer.
In the “Highest Production Category”, Denzil Harris- Beef, Neil Mitchell- Mutton/Chevron, Austin Richards- Pork, Elmond Richards-Eggs and Clive Webster- Broilers.
Under the Fisheries Category, Darwin Francis was named Best Ocean Pelagics Fisher, Everton Sammuel was named Most Reliable Supplier to Basseterre Fisheries, Stuart Laplace was recognized for Best Advances in Aquaculture while Richard Dorsette was named Best Cooperative Fisher with Department of Marine Resources.
The Sandy Point Fisherman’s Marketing and Supplies Co-operative Society Limited was named Fisherfolk Organization of the Year.
As the highlight of the ceremony, Michael Maynard was announced overall Fisher of the Year, Terrance Decosta- Livestock Farmer of the Year and Calvin Percival- Crop Farmer of the Year.
The prize giving ceremony formed part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s World Food Day Week of Activities which were held under the theme, “Our actions are our future. Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life”.
