Melissa Skerrit to host Urban Agriculture Training to boost food security

Melissa Skerrit- Minister for Housing, Land and Urban Development, is hosting an Urban Agriculture Training in Roseau.

Tuesday, 9th January 2024

Melissa Skerrit hosts Urban Agriculture Training

PC: Facebook

Dominica: Melissa Skerrit will host an Urban Agriculture Training in Roseau to educate people about food security, hydroponics and modern farming. In a Facebook post, the Parliamentary Representative and Minister for Housing, Land and Urban Development said that the date of the session will be announced shortly. She invited people to embrace more advanced agriculture system, and added that hydroponic systems and tower gardens signifies the future of farming. Melissa Skerrit emphasized that the training session will teach people on "How to grow more food in limited space and in half the time." "Not owning a plot of land doesn't prevent you from growing your own food; it simply requires a vertical approach," added Melissa Skerrit.

The Workshop is facilitated by the Chinese Agriculture Mission, and the Interested Roseau constituents can be a part of this session by registering themselves at Constituency central offices. Minister Melissa Skerrit said the training will enhance the skills of the people and enable them to grow more food within agriculture. Reportedly, the training session educate people and increase their knowledge in the following areas, these include:

Introduction to Hydroponics and Modern Farming: Hydroponics is a method of growing plants with nutrients without using inert materials. These materials are dirt, vermiculite, rock wool, peat moss, sawdust, coir dust, coconut fibre/Wood fibre, and other similar materials.
Food Security: Food security deals with the fact that one must have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their diet requirements and Sustain their life.
Water Efficiency, Reduced Land Use and Climate Resilience: As per the facts, the water plants need 50-60% for surface irrigation, 90% for drip irrigation, and 50% for sprinklers. However, over-watering the plants can result in plant failure and soil erosion. Apart from this, The reduction of land use and Climate Resilience should also be the subject of knowledge to the agriculturists.
Innovation and Increased Productivity: With the perfect use of highly-equipped technology and Smart Farming methods, one can easily monitor the crop field from anywhere. They can also get sensors to track soil moisture, crop health, livestock conditions, temperature, etc.
Capacity Development: Agriculture capacity building is a continuous process enabling farmers to access information, facilitation, and empowerment and fosters technical advancement for sustainable agriculture development.