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FOREWORD Diet Nutrition (read more on pages 10 and 11)

We live in a world where changes take place faster and

faster, right before our eyes. In fact, these changes occur

so rapidly that it sometimes takes a while for us to catch

up and adjust to these changes. It is crucial that we set

the stage for these changes to take place; we can do this

through education.

Educating our people means focusing on the aspects of

these changes that affect us or will affect most.

ECTAD believes that Agriculture is one of the most

important sectors of our economy and has been from its

inception, emphasizing the importance of viewing this

sector as a money making, food security, and futuristic

sector.

ECTAD believes that we must start at the beginning to

educate our young about this important part of our

economy. We begin this process by including our

children in Agriculture, whether in the homes or the

schools. We secure our future by educating and training

our children today for a better stronger tomorrow.

Captivating the interest of our children: our nation’s

future

Corn is a good source of many nutrients including

thiamin (vitamin B1), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5),

folate, dietary fiber, vitamin C, phosphorus and

manganese.

This issue will focus on:

Educating our children in aspects of Agriculture as

it relates to food security, finance, health and

development

Capturing the true essence of Nature and the

Environment within Agriculture

Training our children in the food, financial,

economic, commercial and business aspects of

Agriculture

Advantages derived each day from Agriculture and

its linkages to Tourism, Health and Nutrition, etc

Developments and decisions made each day in

Agriculture

EEEDDDIII TTTOOORRR IIIAAALLL

Dear Readers

It is indeed a pleasure to present you with issue number

eight (8) of our newsletter.

ECTAD has long taken an active role in the gathering

and sharing of information in an effort to keep you

informed of the seriousness of the changes happening

around you everyday.

This newsletter is ECTAD’S way of keeping our readers

up-to-date with the realities of our changing times.

We have so far been receiving very positive feedback and

we are very excited about the effects the information in

our newsletter have had on our readers.

As we continue this quest together, the issue, therefore,

is not getting the information, but what we do with this

information. ECTAD has high expectations for the

future and we look forward to seeing you there.

Happy exploring!

EEECCCTTTAAADDD’’’SSS NNNeeewwwsssllleeetttttteeerrr TTTeeeaaammm

Nyasha Durrant - Administrative Officer

Sustang Fergus - Research Assistant

Billidorn Haywood - Area Coordinator

Jeff Trotman Communications Advisor

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Jethro T. Greene has over 30 years experience in the

field of agriculture and rural development. He has

proven himself to be a leader and motivator with

excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Mr. Greene’s extensive skills include agricultural

management; agricultural marketing; farmers’

organisation and consultant development; and rural

development, among others.

Mr. Greene is also the founding member of several

local and regional organisations that work to

eliminate poverty and improve the quality of life for

less privilege people throughout the Caribbean. Such

organisations include, the Eastern Caribbean

Trading Agriculture and Development Organisation

(ECTAD), the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN),

the Organisation of Rural Development (ORD), the

St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Development

Foundation (NDF), and the St. Vincent/Long Island

New York Partners of the Americas.

Mr. Greene, “Hopelessness and failure are not words

in my vocabulary”.

Special thanks to Jethro Greene for his

commitment and contribution to

agriculture, in general to the farmers and

rural farm families of St. Vincent and the

Grenadines.

KEEPING THE POSITIVE IMAGE

ALIVE

A message from the Jethro T. Greene, Chief Coordinator

of the Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture and

Development Organisation (ECTAD)

The farmers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)

are resolute despite the many constraints and the recent

decline in agriculture. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

was able to feed its sister island of Grenada after

hurricane Ivan.

Another example of farmers’ determination, was when

ECTAD, working with over one hundred farmers with

no financing from the commercial/Government sectors

was able to move production and marketing of

Dasheen by 300% in less than one year because of a

market led approach.

Many people talk about the fact that young people are

shying away from agriculture, but empirical

observation and evidence have proven that once money

can be made from farming activity, the so-called

stigma is less significant.

What is needed is for us to stop analyzing the

agriculture sector with focus on “difficult and what

cannot be done”. Let us instead focus on some of the

amazing positives that comes from our farmers and

agriculture sector; Things that may not be widely

promoted, but have affected change and promoted

development.

We have a lot of success stories and the best practices

that can be used as examples to create a new image of

agriculture.

Now, with the talk about the food crisis, it seems as

though everyone wants to get on the agriculture band

wagon, this includes the government.

This is the ideal time for us to lobby for agriculture to

be placed on the priority development agenda. We as a

farmers’ organization have to ensure that the accrued

benefits coming from increased food prices positively

affect our farmers.

Let us work together to ensure that the most important

person in the chain-the consumer, is not unduly

negatively affected by increased food prices.

We can do this, by ensuring that we shorten the chain

to the consumer.

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“NO SUCH THING AS CHEAP

FOOD”

“There’s no such thing as cheap food,” insists Jethro

Greene, Chief Coordinator of the Eastern Caribbean

Trading and Development Organization (ECTAD).

However, he strongly feels that food prices should

remain “affordable” to Vincentian consumers.

Greene reiterated in a recent interactive radio

programme that Caribbean farmers and farmers’

representatives have for years been calling for

agriculture to be made the cornerstone of our economies

but the calls have been ignored until recently by

politicians and economic development planners.

He said now that alarm bells are being sounded around

the world and regional politicians are following the

international cue and are talking about the food crisis,

“we have a great opportunity in St. Vincent and the

Grenadines and the rest of the Caribbean to create a

facilitating environment in which the private sector can

commit more investment in the food sector, particularly

agriculture”. According to him, it is for this reason that

ECTAD joined the St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Chamber of Industry and Commerce two years ago.

Greene believes that the same factors that influence the

cost of export crops influence the cost of producing

crops for the local market. According to him, it is only

recently that food security is being seen as a challenge

in the Caribbean.

He said this challenge has been caused by Caribbean

consumers becoming complacent as a result of the ready

availability of cheap, imported food. “Only now that

there is a threat we are beginning to realize the full

value of food security.”

In relation to rising food prices, Greene said: “We

should not fool ourselves, thinking that farmers are

benefiting greatly from the recent increases,” since,

according to him, “80-85% of food costs are outside of

the farmers’ hands in the form of storage, packaging,

distribution, marketing and so on.”

Solution

Stressing the need to focus beyond the farm gate to

genuinely stabilize food prices, Greene said ECTAD,

which is the coordinating body of the Caribbean

Farmers Network (CaFAN), is advancing the

importance of action rather than talk.

Greene firmly believes that farmers will increase

production if they make money. “Our farmers have

shown over and over again that if they are justly

rewarded; if they can make reasonably decent incomes,

they will produce,” Greene said as he referred to success

ECTAD has received over the past two years in

encouraging small farmers at Greggs to produce

dasheen for exportation to the United Kingdom.

In this regard, he said, ECTAD with help from the

Ministry of Agriculture and CARDI was instrumental in

training farmers to organize their own marketing –

eradicating middlemen – so that farmers have a straight

line to consumers.

Greene is adamant that in this way, farmers can obtain

higher rewards while prices remain stable for

consumers. “All we did,” he contended, “was cut out

waste.”

Inputs

He is also suggesting that another way of keeping prices

of agricultural produce affordable is by making inputs

available to farmers at reasonable prices through bulk

purchasing and relevant tax incentives.

Greene is also suggesting there should be collaboration

amongst stakeholders such as the Ministry of

Agriculture, CARDI, IICA, the private sector and NGOs

with vested interest in agriculture to look at setting up

district markets close to the farmers so that farm gate

prices can be passed on to the consumer.

-4-

BACKYARD GARDENING

With increasingly strident concerns being voiced across

the region about impending food shortages and rising

food prices, ECTAD/CaFAN is advocating action to

promote backyard and home gardening across the

Caribbean. “This will be good supplement to regular

food production,” Jethro Greene advocates.

The ECTAD Chief Coordinator is also suggesting that

such promotion could be another collaborative effort by

the Ministries of Agriculture, the private sector, schools

and agricultural institutes, particularly in relation to the

widespread supply of seeds at affordable prices. He

further echoed a commonly held notion in the St.

Vincent and the Grenadines that agriculture should be

returned to the general school curriculum as was the

case in former years. “This would stimulate awareness

and greater appreciation for agriculture among young

people,” Greene said, and commended the Vincentian

Government for bringing forward the law against theft,

noting that the law would force bona fide farmers to

keep proper records of their produce.

Linkages

Reiterating that ECTAD/CaFAN has begun pointing the

way forward in agricultural linkages to health and

nutrition, and to tourism, Greene said: “These linkages

will help boost production of and appreciation for using

our local foods”.

The ECTAD Chief Coordinator further stated that the

pilot project ECTAD launched in St. Vincent and the

Grenadines of linking agriculture to health and nutrition

is beginning to bear fruit.

Research and Development

Greene also pointed to the relevance of research and

development to efficiency in agricultural production and

environmental health. He said that local farmers should

begin to focus more on integrated farming systems,

using small ruminants such as sheep, goats, even pigs

and rabbits, etc.

KEEPING AGRICULTURAL

SCIENCE ON THE SCHOOL’S

CURRICULUM

Foods from a backyard garden

Returning to school gardens A conversation pertaining to the reintroduction of

school gardening on the national school curriculum was

started on the opening day of ECTAD’S nine-month

pilot programme of Linking Agriculture to Health and

Nutrition last September. This conversation is even

more relevant today with the increasing concern being

raised about the impending scarcity of food staples –

rice, wheat and corn - on the world market

The conversation arose as ECTAD’S affiliates sought

for workable solutions to combat the growing tendency

of Vincentian to eschew locally produced fresh root

crops and vegetables preferring to eat imported foreign

fruits and vegetables including those that are canned.

While the conversation, at the time, was aimed at

cutting back on the high food importation bill and at the

same time foster increased wealth among local farmers

by encouraging import substitution, a critical issue was

the growing incidence of chronic non communicable

diseases – diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart attacks

– which are responsible for 60% of deaths annually in

St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other Caribbean

countries. Now, the conversation has become relevant

with respect to going beyond self sufficiency in food to

the attainment of national food security.

One participant recalled that secondary schools had

gardens which were tilled by students, who grew mainly

vegetables. The participant also recalls school

gardening competitions were held from time to time.

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According to this participant, this not only helped the

students to develop appreciation for the challenges faced

by farmers to produce successful crops but it also

influenced them into developing a taste for their

agricultural produce. “I think today, that has gone out

the window to some extent,” the participant said. “How

many schools are now practicing that? But I think this is

something that we need to get back to and keep the

children engaged in this.”

Noting that Bishops College, Kingstown had a very nice

school garden, the participant said, “I don’t know what

is the status now, but … from my vantage point at the

nutrition support programme, where we are supplying

these schools with foodstuff to prepare lunches for the

children, here is where these schools could produce

these fruits and vegetables to supply to the children

rather than having to go outside and seek for it. This is

one of the problems they say they are having in

obtaining a supply of these fruits and vegetables for the

children in the schools. Someone has to look at it from

that level. Probably, start developing a competition

among those schools and get the children engaged in

those activities again.”

During the discussion, ECTAD Director Telojo Onu

said that she had recently attended a meeting where the

World Bank highlighted that basic life skills that would

help us function in a normal work environment are

missing in our education system. “There was a little

case study done, even in terms of eating habits, and the

fact that you have people eating badly and then they are

not productive and that has to be linked back to the

education system,” Onu said.

She suggested that ECTAD in collaboration with

stakeholders in the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of

Health and the Environment as well as personnel from

the Ministry of Agriculture “should probably set up a

team and go out into the schools and have one day

promotional campaigns for the children to understand

that eating healthy is important”. She also suggested

that the children, in turn, would talk to their parents on

the importance of healthy eating. She said at her son’s

school, students are encouraged to take fruits instead of

other snacks to school on Wednesdays and this has

encouraged him to develop a preference for local fruit

over packaged snacks such as corn curls. She added:

“He’s taking more and more fruits to school and not

snacks. It used to be Wednesday. Now, it’s a Thursday

and it’s a Friday.”

ECTAD’S Chief Coordinator, Jethro Greene

approvingly noted that promoting fruit as a snack is a

very good approach. But Billidorn Haywood, head of

ECTAD’s farmers group at Greggs, who is in his early

thirties, observed that in his growing up days parents

encourage their children to pursue upward mobility by

doing well academically so that they could become

professionals such as medical doctors and lawyers,

teachers and nurses.

According to Haywood, students who were not

academically successful were regarded as dropouts even

when they got into agriculture and were successful.

“This is something that I believe come from slavery,” he

said. “We believe that we do it too much in slavery

time. So, you are a slave when you use a hoe.”

Haywood further opined that the current generations of

young people, who do not excel academically, are

encouraged by their parents to become a sailor, or join

the British Army and not to become farmers. “So, the

thing is that we have to go back to the school and get

agriculture as one of those careers. So that it start in

Kindergarten because if it isn’t started in Kindergarten

then we would have a problem because if you ask young

people here why they do agriculture, you will have

different answers. You see, because at the end of the

day, agriculture, to me, is one of the last stages in the

education system.”

In the meantime, Greene insists that the issues lead right

back to developing life skills. “As part of life skills, we

used to train our people how to help themselves with

foods,” Greene said. “As part of life skills, people need

to know how plants are germinated, the value of trees

and plants. Going to school, we used to germinate seeds.

“It’s not going to be necessary for everybody to go into

agriculture. But my point is you want everybody to have

an appreciation for agriculture and farming. The point

about it is that I may choose to go into agriculture as a

business but I may also choose to take my small

backyard and grow some tomato and cabbage and

vegetables to put in my dishes, or simply some herbs.

The big new thing now in some of the countries is to

grow your herbs to put in your cooking – that’s now

being promoted a lot on television.”

-6-

FOOD SECURITY: AN IMPORTANT

MEASURE OF NATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

Food security is not only important to health; it is a very

important influence on urban development, trade and

national development. An official from the Caribbean

Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), Dr. Ballyram made

the comment during a three-day training workshop

organized by the National Food and Nutrition Security

Council (NFNSC) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,

held from Monday 25 – Wednesday 27 February 2008

at the Ministry of Health conference room.

The NFNSC has been mandated by Cabinet to

coordinate a national focus on all matters dealing with

food and nutrition security in St. Vincent and the

Grenadines including the drafting of a national food

security policy.

Pointing out that food security is more than food self

sufficiency, which occurs when a country is able to

meet its food needs from its domestic sources, Dr.

Ballyram said food might be available but people may

not have access to such food; food might be available

but it is not healthy; or food might be subjected to glut

or serious shortages.

According to him, food security refers to a situation in

which “all people at all times have physical, social and

economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food

to meet their dietary needs and food preferences.

He said food comes from two sources in the Caribbean

– domestic production and importation - while in the

bigger countries there is a third source, storage. The

CFNI official also explained that food security has four

main components: (1) food must be available; (2)

residents and citizens of a country must have the ability

to purchase food or prices must be reasonable compared

to income (access can also be pinned with safety

programmes, remittances and good food price policy by

the government); (3) dietary needs for healthy lives (two

aspects – internal and

external) – which also

involve food availability,

accessibility, utilization

and consumption; (4)

stability of the three previous components.

Dr. Ballyram explained: “A truly comprehensive food

security assessment will require indicators of all those

four components in addition to an analysis of what is

happening at the national level in terms of macro

economics - how the food is produced, domestic or

imported, and how much of the respective produce is

available – determined by income, prices and food

distribution systems.”

In looking at different levels of food security, ranging

from secure to mildly insecure through moderately

insecure and severely insecure or indigent, Dr. Ballyram

said those who worry about becoming food insecure or

those who skip meals occasionally for financial reasons

are mildly food insecure; those who skip meals every

month are moderately food insecure while the indigent

cannot afford a proper diet.

He said the NFNSC will have the challenge of analyzing

all the indicators of food security in trying to find out

the most vulnerable people in the country. He said the

methodology that can help them to do so would involve

profiling, including information on people’s assets,

social and physical capital.

In reiterating that food security, which is defined as

physical access to food at all times per head, transcends

the issue of food self sufficiency, Dr. Ballyram said

poverty is a major determinant of food security in the

Caribbean.

The development economist said, while a lot of people

ought to take their lives into their own hands, the

NFNSC should continually publicize the minimum cost

for a nutritious basket and a food security bulletin that

inform people of choices of nutritious diets at minimum

costs.

He said the NFNSC will have to impress the right

decision makers of the importance of conducting a food

security survey in the country, how it could be done and

where the money to conduct the survey could be

obtained. He gave the assurance

that CFNI will provide invaluable

support to the NFNSC in

conducting the surveys.

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Increased information flow ECTAD is increasing its information flow to its

members and the Caribbean Farmers Network

(CaFAN), respectively with the development of a small

newsletter in addition to the Greenlight, called Green

Flash, which would be an immediate update of the

ECTAD Website of information within ECTAD, and a

similar update called Agriflash for CaFAN’s Agrivybz.

“We’re trying to keep a caption of everything that

happens,” explains ECTAD’s Chief Coordinator,

Jethro Greene. “If somebody goes to a meeting, if we

ship ten shipments of dasheen - we keep our

membership informed and this is not expensive to

produce.”

Consolidated marketing Some farmers have expressed concern at the move by

WIBDECO to join with the National Properties Ltd. to

form an exclusive marketing company, the Lauders

Agro Processing Incorporated, to purchase local

agricultural produce for exportation.

Mr. Jethro Greene, Chief Coordinator of ECTAD says

while ECTAD will receive increased competition by

this move, the various marketing bodies including

private traffickers should meet to determine a

consolidated approach to marketing their respective

produce. He also claims that farmers must be

empowered to state with confidence that they have

their own markets. And said CaFAN should unite

farmers’ organizations. He also said focus should be

placed on farmers with emphasis on better production

planning.

Printed export boxes Farmers, who export their produce through ECTAD,

will soon be able to do so with labeled boxes. ECTAD

will have its boxes printed. Plates for printing the

labels have already been acquired but ECTAD is

seeking funding to pay for them and to do the printing,

which should be achieved within a month or two.

ECTAD reports success Chief Coordinator of ECTAD, Jethro Greene is

satisfied with the success of the pilot project, Linking

Agriculture to Health and Nutrition. Greene said that

since the nine-month project was launched in

September 2007, there has been a series of newspaper

articles, aimed at sensitizing Vincentian to purchasing

local fruits and vegetables for healthy eating and

enhancing the wealth of rural farmers.

He said a successful workshop was held in keeping

with the pilot project - in the Leeward Area in

November 2007. He also said that the pilot project is

beginning to be noticed throughout the state since

people are beginning to take “a visible interest in

fruits and vegetables”.

Mr. Greene also noted that a lot of people did not eat

salted hams during the recent Christmas season

because they had become more conscious through the

media of eating healthier. He added that promotion of

the wellness revolution by the government is beginning

to impact people’s consciousness.

Backyard Garden ECTAD will distribute seeds at each of the workshops

to encourage people to begin backyard gardens.

ECTAD has already approached the St. Vincent and

the Grenadines Chamber of Industry and Commerce

(SVGCIC) for seeds – broccoli, tomato, pumpkin and

cabbage – for the exercise.

The seeds will be distributed at the upcoming ECTAD

workshops to launch zonal backyard garden

competitions. During the respective workshops, an

agriculture extension officer will address participants

on proper seed setting techniques.

Meanwhile, the SVGCIC has asked ECTAD to work

along with the Chamber to revive the Bishop’s

College, Kingstown, and school garden.

Booklet ECTAD has produced a booklet entitled: “Living

Healthy, Eating Right” - a simple nutrition guide for

everybody including children. Copies of the booklet

have been made available to the general public.

ICT for ECTAD farmers ECTAD is moving to enroll all its members in

government’s ICT programme. ECTAD’S Chief

-9-

Coordinator, Jethro Greene says the government’s

ICT programme covers a wide range of levels

including training for farmers and everyone needs to

look at the level at which they would like to be trained.

Greene wants all ECTAD farmers and farmers’

leaders to make use of the ICT training which will

soon be made available.

Upcoming workshops

ECTAD will be holding three other workshops as

part of its nine-month pilot project, Linking

Agriculture to Health and Nutrition. The workshops

will be held in collaboration with the Ministry of

Health and the Environment and the Ministry of

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The first workshop will be held on 11 June, 2008 at the

Learning Resource Centre at Questelles for farmers in

the South Leeward Area. This workshop will be held

from 9.00A.M. To 2.00P.M. It is intended to attract

sixty participants including students from the

Barrouallie and Campden Park Secondary Schools as

well as young people groups in the South Leeward

Area.

The second workshop is scheduled for 18 June, 2008

in the Central Windward Area. It is expected to attract

farmers from Diamond, Lowmans (Windward),

Richland Park and New Grounds. This workshop will

be held at the Greggs Government School from 3.00

P.M to 7.00P.M. It is also expected to attract 60

persons including five students from each of the five

secondary schools in the area as well as farmers and

housewives.

The third workshop will be held on 25 June, 2008 from

9.30A.M. To 2.00P.M., at Bishop’s College,

Georgetown, for the North Windward Zone. Plans are

also being made to hold a meeting at Fancy at a date

to be announced later.

Food and Nutrition ECTAD is now represented on the National Food and

Nutrition Security Council (NFNSC). ECTAD’S

environment consultant, Candice Ramessar, was

selected on the NFNSC at a three-day training

workshop, held Monday 25 – Wednesday 27 February

2008 at the Ministry of Health conference room.

The workshop, a collaboration between the NFNSC

and the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute

(CFNI/PAHO/WHO), stressed that Food Security is

more than having availability of food; it is being

assured of food at all times.

Ms. Ramessar said the facilitators pointed to natural

disasters such as hurricanes that could negatively

affect ready access to food. She quoted one of the

workshop facilitators, Dr. Ballayram that the

vulnerability of Caribbean countries could be

highlighted in the aftermath of a hurricane when they

would probably have to wait on the next boat from

Miami to get food, rather than relying on stored food

to offset shortages as in the more developed countries.

“That is a very vulnerable situation for our country to

be in,” Ramessar said as she disclosed that NFNSC

has been given the mandate to develop a food and

nutrition policy for SVG, which would be linked to

“the whole idea of wellness”.

The Environmentalist stressed that ECTAD will

participate fully in the Council “and feed into that

policy and a food and nutrition bulletin for St. Vincent

and the Grenadines”.

She added that the Council has been mandated by

Cabinet to coordinate a national focus on all matters

dealing with food and nutrition security in St. Vincent

and the Grenadines including the drafting of a

national food security policy.

ECTAD/CARDI cooperation ECTAD and CaFAN have agreed to cooperate with

the Caribbean Agricultural Research and

Development Institute (CARDI) on hot pepper,

cassava and sweet potato.

In making the disclosure, ECTAD’s Chief Coordinator

Jethro Greene said ECTAD has also received a

specific request from a private entrepreneur to grow

five acres of hot pepper.

He said if ECTAD gets into hot pepper, it would adopt

the market-led approach of its dasheen project.

CaFAN/Oxfam collaboration CaFAN and Oxfam are developing a cooperation

agreement to influence regional policy on agriculture.

This agreement would involve continuous monitoring

of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)

between regional governments and the European

Union (EU) to ensure they are in the best interest of

Caribbean farmers and to monitor the development

aide (to ensure that it) does not happen like what is

happening in the diversification programme where it

goes to those who do not need it.

“We want any development aide must come straight to

the grass root and that’s what we’re working on and

lobbying to try to see what we could get,” says

ECTAD’S Chief Coordinator, Jethro Greene.

MANGO AND DIET NUTRITION

The nutritional value of the mango fruit makes it an

excellent choice for both weight control and general

health. Mangoes are very nutritious and excellent

source of carotene as compared to other fruits.

Eating mangoes in the season may provide a store of

vitamin A in the liver, sufficient to last for the rest

of the year and highly beneficial for the prevention

of vitamin A deficient disorders like night blindness.

Both ripe and green mangoes are very good sources

of vitamin C. Both vitamins A and C are anti

oxidants and help to reduce the risk of certain

cancers.

Ripe mango provides a good source of calories. A

ripe mango supplies 74kcal per 100 grams (mainly

derived from fructose). Unripe mango has fewer

calories compared to ripe mango. The ripe mango

fruit is also a good source of potassium and traces of

sodium make it suitable for hypertensive patients.

The mango fruit also contains some Vitamin E and

useful amounts of iron and nicotinic acid! In fact,

mango fruit has a mild to moderate enhancing effect

on iron absorption. Those on potassium restricted

diet like renal failure diet should avoid mangoes.

Usefulness: The ripe fruit is a good laxative,

increases the urine flow and cools the blood. The

unripe fruit can be made into a cooling hot summer

drink and also into various mango pickles.

MANGO MEDICINE

The mango’s high antioxidant values have been

reported to be excellent for the immune system and

to help protect against cancer. Benefits of mango

beta-carotene ingestion, which is converted in the

body to Vitamin A, are many: it may reduce the risk

of heart attack, protect against cataracts and promote

healthy eyes and skin. It may also help boost the

immune response to colds and ‘flu.

Vitamin C is best known as a cell protector and

immune system booster, countering the effects of

cell damage by free radicals, aiding the body’s

ligaments, tendons and collagen. It is especially

useful to help against the severity of colds and ‘flu

symptoms and duration.

Diets high in potassium-rich food may help to

protect against heart disease and stroke, as well as

aiding regular heartbeat and heart-rhythm

abnormalities. Vitamin E content may prevent blood

clots, the formation of fatty plaques and cell

proliferation on the walls of arteries, protect against

stroke caused by blocked arteries and reduce the risk

of some cancers by preventing cancer cell

proliferation and causing cancer cells to die.

PAPAW

Many of us take the papaya plant and fruit for

granted but the fruit can play a very important role

in the lives of those who eat it. Believed to be

originally endemic to Mexico and neighboring

Central American countries, the papaw fruit is easily

digestible. It also contributes to the digestion of

other food.

The Papaya fruit contains carbohydrates, proteins

and fats. Papaya is rich in potassium and significant

amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and

iron.

Stomach disorders: Papaya is recommended in

cases of difficult digestion since it helps neutralize

excess gastric acid. It could be eaten to reduce the

discomfort of ulcer.

Intestinal disorders: Papaya is of value because of

its effect on all digestive processes and its very low

fat content. The Papaya’s emollient and antiseptic

effect on the digestive mucosa makes it useful in

any type of case of gastroenteritis or colitis. Studies

have shown that Papaya, particularly when it is

slightly green, impedes the development of many

enter pathogens that cause intestinal infections.

Papaya is highly recommended for infectious

diarrhea.

Intestinal parasites: Papaya sap or latex and to a

lesser extent the pulp, can be effective against

intestinal parasites, particularly Tania (tape worm).

Skin disorder: People with skin disorders such as

eczema and acne should also eat Papaya because of

its richness in provitamin A. Pawpaw contains

papain that helps digestion and is good at

tenderizing meat.

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GUAVA

The guava is a tropical fruit. There are several

varieties of the fruit with different shapes, colors

and flavors. The flesh may be creamy white or pink.

Nutritional Value: The guava is among the richest

fruits in Vitamin C. The fruit is also rich in

carotenoids -substances that transform to vitamin A

and have powerful antioxidant effect within the cell.

Nutritionists determine that 100g of guava pulp

supplies 8% of the daily need of vitamin A. The

variety with reddish pulp is the richest in

carotenoids, and contains lycopene, the same

carotenoid found in tomatoes.

Most of the 5.4% of fiber in the guava is soluble,

composed of pectin and mucilage. It contain

significant amounts of B group vitamins (except

B12), and vitamin E, as well as calcium,

phosphorous, magnesium, and iron. Its most

abundant mineral is potassium. It also is relatively

rich in trace elements such as zinc, copper, and

manganese.

A three-month study conducted in India and

published in the American Journal of Cardiology,

found that adding guava to a daily diet of 61

hypertensive volunteers lowered their systolic blood

pressure. The same experiment produced overall

cholesterol reduction and reduction in triglycerides

in the blood.

Guava is an excellent fruit for maintaining good

arterial health. Its consumption prevents the risk

factors that cause arteriosclerosis: hypertension and

high cholesterol. It has been recommended that

persons who wish to quit smoking should eat two or

three guavas a day. Nicotine hardens the arteries.

The large amount of Vitamin C found in guavas

could help those in treatment for nicotine addiction

since this vitamin neutralizes nicotine.

Guava has an invigorating effect on the body. It is

particularly beneficial for persons, who are

convalescing from infectious illnesses, or fatigue

and weakness provoked by chronic disease.

AVOCADO

The avocado is considered a complete food, rich in

vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, calories and fiber

with no cholesterol and is sodium free. It is ideal for

adult children, babies and especially athletes.

Nutritional value: The avocado is among the

richest fruits in fats including fats containing

phosphorous in their molecule and perform very

important functions in the nervous system. The

avocado is the richest fresh food in Vitamin E. No

animal based food possesses as much Vitamin E as

the avocado - not even eggs and butter. Avocado

promotes reproductive functions, but because it is a

powerful antioxidant it protects against cancer and

cellular aging. The avocado is, together with

banana, the richest fresh fruit in Vitamin B6;

superior, even, to beef. The avocado also has the

highest iron content and fibre of any fresh food.

Health Benefits

Excess cholesterol: An avocado paradox was

revealed in 1960 when W.C Grant discovered that

eating this fruit, so rich in fats, actually lowered

blood cholesterol levels. These first studies were

conducted by feeding 16 males aged 27 to 72

various amounts of avocado (one-half to one and a

half a day). Half the subjects showed a reduction in

cholesterol. No subject showed any increase.

Circulatory disorders: Avocados cannot be more

highly recommended for cases of arteriosclerosis,

hypertension, and coronary heart disease in general.

Anemia: The iron in avocados is relatively well

assimilated.

Nervous disorders: Avocado contains fats that are

very important to the metabolism of the pervious

system such as linoleic acid and phospholipids.

Additionally, they are very rich in vitamin B6, one

of the most important for proper neuron function,

therefore appropriate for those suffering from

nervousness, irritability, or depression.

Digestive disorders: Avocados are appropriate for

the diet of those suffering from stomach ulcers or

gastritis because of their alkalinity and the emollient

and productive effects of their fats on the mucosa.

FARMERS’ CORNER

Question ‘n’ Answer column

Q

A representative from ECTAD has recently

been selected to serve on an entity that has

been mandated by Cabinet to develop a food

and nutrition policy for St. Vincent and the

Grenadines and to coordinate a national focus

on all matters dealing with food and nutrition

security in SVG including the drafting of a

national food security policy. What is that

entity?

A

The National Food and Nutrition Security Council

(NFNSC).

________________________________________

Q

The pawpaw fruit contains papain that helps

digestion and is good at tenderizing meat.

Would you recommend eating pawpaw for

someone with skin disorder?

A

Yes. People with skin disorders such as eczema

and acne should also eat papaya because of its

richness in provitamin A

________________________________________

Q

Can eating guava help one to stop smoking

cigarettes?

A

It has been recommended that persons who wish

to quit smoking should eat two or three guavas a

day. Nicotine hardens the arteries. The large

amount of Vitamin C found in guavas could help

those in treatment for nicotine addiction since this

vitamin neutralizes nicotine.

________________________________________

Q

Some people rate the avocado as one of the

most complete fresh foods. Is this so?

A

The avocado is among the richest fruits in fats

including fats containing phosphorous in their

molecule and perform very important functions in

the nervous system. The avocado is the richest

fresh food in Vitamin E. No animal – based food

possesses as much Vitamin E as the avocado - not

even eggs and butter. Avocado promotes

reproductive functions, but because it is a

powerful antioxidant it protects against cancer and

cellular aging. The avocado is, together with

banana, the richest fresh fruit in Vitamin B6;

superior, even, to beef. The avocado also has the

highest iron content and fibre of any fresh food.

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LLOOCCAALL RREECCIIPPEE

Mango bread

2 Cups flour

1 Table spoon baking Powder

2 tsp cumin

¾ tsp vegetable oil

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2 cups mango

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, make and opening

in the middle, mix other ingredients add to the

mixture.

Pour into greased and floured pan. Let sit for 20

minutes. Bake at 350degrees for 1 hour or until

wooden pick insert in the center come out dry.

Guava pie 3 table spoons flour

½ cup sugar

1 pinch salt

1 pie crust

4 cups guava peeled, sliced and seeded

1 tsp lemon juice

3 tsp butter

Mix flour, sugar and salt together, fill pie crust

with guava slices, sprinkle with flour and sugar

mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with

butter, Pre heat oven at 450 degrees. Bake for 10

minutes then at 350degrees for 30 minutes.

Avocado dip 1 cup chopped onion

1 cup lean ground beef

1 cup cumin

1 tsp chill powder

1 cup chili without beans

16 ounces cheese (Velveeta)

1 pinch salt

1 large ripe avocado sliced

Brown ground beef in skillet; add onion until

cooked, pour off excess water and fat. Add

chili powder, cumin and cheese, cook. Stir

occasionally until cheese is melted, add salt.

Let cool the mix in avocado. Serve with chip

or crackers.

Pawpaw pie

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated white sugar

2 cups pawpaw

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

1 egg

1 graham cracker pie crust

Pre heat oven 350 degrees Whisk brown and

white sugar, add Pawpaw, let sit for 5 minutes.

Place in a heavy saucepan simmer for 10

minutes, stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Stir occasionally until soft. Remove from heat

and set to cool stir in egg and pour in a graham

cracker pie crust. Bake for 40 minutes.

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In November 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture in St.

Vincent and the Grenadines prepared a document

entitled, “National Food Production Plan to address

Rising Food Prices. This document stated that

according to and FAO publication on global trends in

food prices, “food prices have increased in some cases

by three and four folds since the last quarter of 2006”.

This trend is expected to continue until about

March of 2008, at which time most of the

commodity producing countries would have been

able to respond to the high prices by increasing

their supply (FAO Global Trend in Food Prices

Report 2007).

The document stated that the major commodities

affected include maize, rice, wheat and other

cereals, vegetables and livestock and livestock

products. It also stated that the reason for these

high prices were the fact that maize is uses to

produce ethanol and since maize is a major

ingredient in livestock feed, the price will increase

resulting in increase in the price of livestock and

livestock products. Also contributing to the high

price is global warming impact pests and diseases.

Locally, issues of high input cost, shortage of

labour, limited credit, inadequate marketing and

distribution systems and praedial larceny have all

impacted on agricultural production and prices.

It went on to state that while rising food prices is a

global phenomenon, net food importing countries

are now more vulnerable under the circumstances.

Such countries include all member states of

Caricom and to a lesser extent Belize.

Within Caricom, the Heads of States have

recognize rising food prices as a serious problem

which requires urgent government intervention to

arrest the incidence of poverty, malnutrition and

the increasing trend of Non-communicable

diseases.

The regional strategy is to have each member state

developing and implementing an agricultural

production plan that will make food readily

available and affordable and at the same time,

creating the link to food and nutrition for a wellness

revolution. This is consistent with economic theory

when there is a market distortion the government

intervenes through its policies and programmes.

The document continued by stating that the

National Food Plan includes strategies and

initiatives geared towards the stimulation of

increased domestic food production so that food to

the local population can be made more readily

available at avoidable prices.

The food plan is to be implemented over the period

2008-2020 and will have two components- the

short term and medium to long term strategies.

This framework is important to allow for

sustainability of food production and low prices.

General Objectives of the plan:

� To increase the production/supply of food

within the six food groups.

� To make locally produced foods more

affordable to consumers

Short Term Strategy:

To use the government policies(e.g.) fiscal

measures and financing under the capital and

recurrent expenditure programs and financing

under the European Union Agriculture

Diversification Program and other support

programs to drive the increase in agriculture

production over the fiscal year 2008. This strategy

looked at five major crops (Carrot, Cabbage,

Tomato, Lettuce and Sweet Pepper) to make

available year round.

- -

ECTAD Executive Volunteers

Chief Coordinator: Jethro T. Greene

Administrative Officer: Nyasha Durrant

Accounts Manager: Pethion Richards

Technical Project Officer: Telojo Onu

Information/Media

Communications: Jeff Trotman

Agricultural Resource

Management Specialist: Candice Ramessar

Agriculture and

Communications: Winston George

Research Assistant: Sustang Fergus

Office Assistant: Ronalia Jackson

ECTAD Directors

Chairman: Jethro T. Greene

Deputy Chairman: James Clarke

Director: Telojo Onu

Director: Pethion Richards

Director: Nyasha Durrant

Director –Leeward: Norgie Tucker

Director - Diamonds Village: Valcina Fergus

Director -Richland Park Rebecca Peters

Director - Rose Hall Francilo Wyllie

Director – Georgetown: Vanda Lewis

Director - Spring Village Maria Porter

Director: Windward Billidorn Haywood

Director: Greggs Vanessa Joseph

Director: Vermont Keisha Malcolm

Collaborating Partners

• Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural

Cooperation (CTA) (ACP-EU)

• Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN)

• Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development

Institute (CARDI)

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on

Agriculture (IICA)

• Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries,

Windward Island Farmers Association (WINFA)

• Oxfam GB (Barbados)

• Grenada Marketing and National Import Board

(GMNIB) • St. Lucia Association of Farmers Cooperatives

(SLAOFC)

• National Development Foundation (NDF)

• SVG Chamber of Industry and Commerce

(SVGCIC)

Area

Representatives

North Windward

Fancy Juney Baptiste

Owia Avalou Baptiste,

Deon Osment

George Town Vanda Lewis

South Windward

Greggs Vanessa Joseph,

Billidorn Haywood

Richland Park Carmel Williams

Rebecca Peters

Diamond Village Valcina Fergus

Totsie Douglas

South Leeward

Vermont Keisha Malcolm

James Clarke

Penniston Princina Mitchel

Retreat Louise Charles

Barroullie Cherly Smith,

Sydney Joseph

North Leeward

Spring Village Miranda Porter

Marleen Ashton

Chateaubelair Norgie Tucker

Pat Ottley

Rose Hall Nicole Morris

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The Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture Development Organization (ECTAD) is a The Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture Development Organization (ECTAD) is a The Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture Development Organization (ECTAD) is a The Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture Development Organization (ECTAD) is a registered nonregistered nonregistered nonregistered non----profit farmers' organization that was established in 1995. profit farmers' organization that was established in 1995. profit farmers' organization that was established in 1995. profit farmers' organization that was established in 1995. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for rural farm familieIts mission is to improve the quality of life for rural farm familieIts mission is to improve the quality of life for rural farm familieIts mission is to improve the quality of life for rural farm families throughout St. Vincent s throughout St. Vincent s throughout St. Vincent s throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Caribbean. It has over 60 volunteer coordinators and over and the Grenadines and the Caribbean. It has over 60 volunteer coordinators and over and the Grenadines and the Caribbean. It has over 60 volunteer coordinators and over and the Grenadines and the Caribbean. It has over 60 volunteer coordinators and over 1000 members/project participants covering over 18 villages.1000 members/project participants covering over 18 villages.1000 members/project participants covering over 18 villages.1000 members/project participants covering over 18 villages. ECTAD believes in building and strengthening local capacity at village level so thaECTAD believes in building and strengthening local capacity at village level so thaECTAD believes in building and strengthening local capacity at village level so thaECTAD believes in building and strengthening local capacity at village level so that t t t farm families can become more independent and stronger and in turn, the community farm families can become more independent and stronger and in turn, the community farm families can become more independent and stronger and in turn, the community farm families can become more independent and stronger and in turn, the community will be developed and involved in all aspects of issues affecting them and the country in will be developed and involved in all aspects of issues affecting them and the country in will be developed and involved in all aspects of issues affecting them and the country in will be developed and involved in all aspects of issues affecting them and the country in general.general.general.general.

Please send comments to:

We look forward to meeting partners who can

help provide training, financing and technical

assistance for our development programmes.

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EASTERN CARIBBEAN TRADING

AGRICULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

ORGANISATION (ECTAD)

Tel: (784) 453-1004 ● Fax: (784) 453 1239

Beachmont, P.O Box 827, Kingstown

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies

ectadsvg@yahoo.com or ectadsvg@gmail.com

http://www.ectadsvg.org

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of CTA. The views expressed herein

are those of ECTAD and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of CTA.