IRISH POTATO TRIALS SHOWING GOOD RESULTS
Minister of Agriculture Hon. Saboto Caesar said from recent experiments conducted, the results clearly indicate that Irish potatoes can be successfully grown here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Researchers and other staff at the Ministry of the Agriculture successfully harvested Irish potatoes from a trial plot at Belle Isle today.
The two varieties harvested at the experimental plot were the Spunta and Desiree.
The agriculture minister said this result bodes well for the Ministry’s overall thrust towards improving food security through diversification and import substitution.
Head of the Crop Research Unit Ruthvin Harper said the ongoing trials are a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Harper took the opportunity to thank the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture for their continued hard work and dedication.
He said work will be done to have locally grown irish potatoes on the local market by this Christmas.
Research officer at CARDI Leroy Jackson said the positive results indicate that more can be done and CARDI looks forward to conducting trials on other varieties of potatoes.
