27th September 2021

ICDF hosts farmer training workshop in Post-Harvest Handling

By Ministry of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Taiwan Technical Mission through the “Enhancement of the Efficiency of the Production-Distribution Supply Chain in the Fruits and Vegetables Sector” project, also known as the Seven Crops Project, hosted a training session for a cohort of farmers in Region Two on Post Harvest Handling of Lettuce.

The farmers were also introduced to new lettuce varieties including the green and red rapid lettuce, and the green and red romaine lettuce. This forms part of a series of training that has been done under the Seven Crops Project which continues to fulfill its mandate of reducing Saint Lucia's food import bill.

According to Production Specialist within the ICDF Taiwan Technical Mission, Eric Chen, one of the main issues in lettuce production is wilting caused by poor agricultural practices after harvesting. He describes this as one of the primary issues that the Seven Crops Project is attempting to address through the training sessions.

“The main topic covered today is the handling of different types of lettuce varieties. They are learning that different varieties have different characteristics. We also introduced new varieties of lettuce as we try to help the farmers fight against climate change because we know it has been a very big challenge for the farmers.”

Perishables Manager for Massy Stores, Dunstan Demille, attended the training session and spoke to the farmers about the importance of good post-harvest handling in order to present high-value products to potential buyers.

“We sometimes encounter challenges with the post-harvest handling of lettuce. Sometimes there is wilting because they do not understand that the crop should not be over exposed to heat and once that happens, those products go to waste,” he said.

The Department of Agriculture and the Taiwan Technical Mission encourages farmers across the island to use proper post-harvest handling techniques to ensure crop quality and minimize loss. Meanwhile, the Government of Saint Lucia in collaboration with the Government of Taiwan continues efforts to restrict the importation of the seven main fruits and vegetables through the Food Import Substitution Program which commenced in 2017.

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