2014 International Cooperation and Development Fund Annual Report

Special Reports

A partner country situated in the

Caribbean Sea, St. Kitts and Nevis relied

on sugar production as the backbone

of its economy in the 1970s. However,

the industry’s offshore migration was

followed by a wave of factory closings,

and the government gradually wound

up the country’s sugar industry, carrying

out a number of land release measures,

as well as devoting effort toward the

establishment of non-sugar-based

agriculture by way of crop diversification.

Ne v e r t h e l e s s , t h e p r e v i o u s

agricultural structure, essentially limited

to a single crop, meant that farmers

lack knowledge about soil fertility and

rely on a small selection of expensive,

imported fertilizers. The dearth of local

fertilizers and pesticides and the lack of

concepts and techniques for their safe

use, combined with a lack of monitoring

during harvest time and the absence

of a system for detecting pesticide

residues before produce reaches the

market, have all led to a need to import

agricultural produce worth more than

US$40 million every year in order to

meet the demands of tourist hotels and

supermarket chains.

To solve this long-standing problem,

the government of St. Kitts and Nevis

proposed this project in hopes that it

could help raise the quantity and quality

of agricultural crops, and thereby also

improve the agricultural production

environment and reduce the foreign

exchange losses caused by importing

agricultural produce.

Agricultural technical cooperation

between Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis

commenced as early as 1982, but

in a change from the past, when the

cooperative model was largely based

around traditional modes of thought

regarding production, the approach

toward the current project is based

around a project management system.

The initiative looks at soil improvement,

composting, fertilizing, plant protection

and pesticide residues as it progresses

toward quality agriculture characterized

by virus-free or “healthy” farming.

Raising Techniques, Moving Toward

Quality Agriculture

Initially, both countries contributed

funding, with St. Kitts and Nevis being

responsible for implementation and with

Taiwan providing assistance, guidance

and consultation, thereby putting the

principle of ownership into practice so

that the project will remain sustainable

once it is phased over

in the future. Next, in

coordination with the

development of the St.

Kitts and Nevis tourism

industry and the need to

guarantee the quality of

crops and the safety of

produce, planning for a rapid pesticide

residue detection system was carried

out, and residue detection stations are

being built to help the relevant personnel

develop technical and detection

capacity, and to gradually promote the

concept of good agricultural practices

(GAP). At the same time, a soil fertility

analysis service station and compost

demonstration farm is being established

to foster analytic and manufacturing

capacity, which will be coordinated

with the manufacture and application of

compost to improve soil quality. A variety

of professional training workshops are

also being held to instill in farmers the

correct and safe use of pesticides, and

the rational application of fertilizer, as

well as to foster crop disease prevention,

soil management and fertilization

techniques.

This project will take place over

a three-year period. Since March

2014, when project implementation

got under way, the detection stations

and the renovation and construction

of the pesticide residue laboratory

have both been completed, while

pesticide residue detection services

have also been extended. Multiple

training workshops on plant diseases

and insect pest prevention, and the

collection of basic data on soil analysis,

farmer production and

marketing operations,

are also under way. On

this basis, it is estimated

that as a result of the

implementation of this

project, the average

per unit yield of fruits,

vegetables and upland crops for farmers

due to receive guidance will rise by 10

percent, and that in terms of pesticide

residue detection, some 30 percent

of locally produced fruits, vegetables

and upland crops will be screened for

pesticides before such produce reaches

the market.

Vegetable, Fruit and Upland Crop

Quality and Safety Improvement

Project, St. Kitts and Nevis

Case Study

Rise in average per unit yield

for farmers who receive

guidance