Providenciales, TCI, February 8, 2017 – The Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services, Agricultural Department recently filled two new technical positions, an Extension Officer and Farm Manager. These positions have been filled by Mr. Mario Smith and Mr. Eulitt Pinnock respectively. Both gentlemen come with a lot of experience and training in Agriculture.
Ms. Wilhelmina Kissoonsingh, Director of Agriculture stated; “The Turks and Caicos Islands imports almost all its food, which puts the country at a food security risk. However the potential is there to develop the agriculture sector with new and innovative techniques to produce food in a sustainable way.”
The role of the Extension Officer (also known as an advisory officer) would be to work with farmers, schools and interested persons to advise on farming practices, assist in diagnosing problems on the farm like identifying pest and disease problems and educating on new technologies available in agriculture.
According to Ms. Kissoonsingh, for many years the Government Farm in Kew, North Caicos has been lacking in technical support. With a farm manager on board, plans are afoot to transform the farm into a research and demonstration farm. Schools and persons interested in Agriculture and Farmers will be able to see and get on hands training on various agricultural practices and eventually have access to some farming inputs. These new additions are crucial to promoting Agricultural Productivity in TCI and promoting food security.
For more information contact the Department of Agriculture on 338-3882 Grand Turk and 946 5801 on Providenciales or email us at agriculture@gov.tc.
