Agriculture Panel Warns Against Inaction as Summit Weighs Food Security and Technology Solutions

The 2025 Workforce Development Summit placed agriculture front and center of the discussion, with the very first panel of the session, moderated by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. himself, focusing on the importance of integrating technology in agriculture.  Agriculture in the Virgin Islands has been challenged by water deficits, obstacles in securing insurance, and waning interest from the youth, among other things. Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen, RTPark's Eric Sonnier, Summer Brown of the Good Food Coalition and District Conservationist Rudy O'Reilly explored the possible uses of technology in solving some of these sectoral challenges.  Potential interventions include utilizing fertilizer drones, soil moisture sensors, and desalination to lessen groundwater challenges. Then came the standout question posed by Governor Bryan: if varied agrotechnologies were successfully implemented in the territory and became commonplace among farmers, “what percentage of the food do you think we...