St Kitts and Nevis agriculture minister spotlights contribution of women in sector

St Kitts and Nevis: International Women’s Day has just passed, the twin-island federation has taken a step towards the upliftment of women of the region. The Ministry of Agriculture has taken a special initiative to spotlight the contributions of women in St Kitts and Nevis to the growth and development of the agriculture sector on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022.

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture presented awards to the women who contributed to the sector. While addressing the event, the director of the Department of Agriculture, Dr Tracy Challenger, mentioned that women play a significant role in influencing every facet of socio-economic life. Dr further noted that women’s elevation had been observed with the passage of time.

“It is our collective effort that drives the gender parity and makes International Women’s Day impactful. This year’s celebration has been dubbed ‘Advancing Women in Agriculture, and March 8’s ceremony is a testament that we are doing just that. I want to point to a few historical examples; when I joined the Department of Agriculture in 1999, I was the only female who attended senior management meetings. Today, we have outnumbered the men. We now have six women and five males at such a high-level meeting. So, we see seeing more women entrepreneurs in agriculture and those that are already in the sector, like Ms Debbie Gilbert, are forging the use of technology such as greenhouse and aquaponics in the sector,” said Dr Challenger.

She further outlined that the Ministry of Agriculture will always promote and support female farmers. The female farmers will be helped develop a wide range of skills in the sector. The ministry has been interacting with various St Kitts and Nevis women, which would help in the formation of the St Kitts chapter of the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CROP).

In the end, the ministry stated that women, as farmers, labourers and entrepreneurs, are a significant resource of the department of agriculture and fisheries.