Junior Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Honourable Dr. Karl Dawson has commended the Territory’s farmers for opening their farms and gardens for persons to see and learn the importance of planting their own food.

Honourable Dawson in his presentation on May 16 during the Territorial Address themed, “Building a Sustainable Nation”, applauded the move by farmers and spoke of the importance of face-to-face interaction with visitors. He added that the open-house events will enable farmers to answer all the questions that visitors may have while they enforce the importance of food sustainability.

Honourable Dawson said, “The initiative of farmers also is trending towards impacting another critical area – Tourism. Many farmers are now developing and opening their properties for tours by residents and visitors. This is very important as continued success in tourism depends in large part on a far more diversified tourist experience which must include a breadth of activities that creates satisfaction and more economic opportunities for Virgin Islanders”.

The Junior Minister added, “In this administration I have been charged with assisting the Premier in the areas of Agriculture and Fisheries. I thank all those who have feedback on our performance whether publicly on one-on-one and I encourage you to continue to do so as we build the land which we love.”

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for ensuring food is safe, nutritionally sound, produced and harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner that builds resilience to internal and external shocks while contributing to the economic growth, social well-being and protection of the natural environment.