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Taiwan Technical Mission in St. Lucia assists the export of bananas to Europe through technical cooperation
In order to assist St. Lucia to develop the banana industry, the TaiwanICDF has been cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives to implement the Banana Productivity Improvement Project since 2018, focusing on counseling of cultivation techniques, and assisting farmers to apply operational procedures such as precise fertilization, techniques for using pesticides and post-harvest processes in order to enhance the income of banana farmers by increasing the yield production of bananas.
After the EU canceled preferential tariff policies on banana imports from the Caribbean Windward Islands countries, the banana industry in St. Lucia has been at a competitive disadvantage compared with Latin American countries and the international market has shrunk. In order to expand the banana market, the TaiwanICDF has conducted a series of farmers’ classes and field internship based on the soil fertility and climate conditions of the country. These courses include cultivation management techniques for fertilization, medicine, leaf removal and replanting. Also, the TaiwanICDF has assisted in the management and design of field harvesting facilities, eating areas and toilets, and taught farmers to use the banana cultivation management record book to ensure the traceability of the product. In addition, the TaiwanICDF has also assisted 150 farmers to obtain the Global Good Agricultural Practice (Global GAP) certification for the opportunity to stabilize exports to the UK market throughout the year.
The implementation of the Banana Productivity Improvement Project has been widely supported and affirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives and the banana farmers. The TaiwanICDF will continue to enhance the cultivation capacity of the banana farmers and counsel each banana farmer to acquire Global GAP certification in order to assist the development of agriculture in St. Lucia gradually.
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- Update: 2019/06/04
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