Agriculture

Expert Staff and Mindset Change Needed to Transform Agriculture Sector in USVI, Department Says

The V.I. Department of Agriculture says that growing technical expertise in local agriculture will be its main focus for fiscal year 2023, as it seeks to further support farmers in accessing grant assistance that will ultimately improve their ability to help build food security in the territory. In 2023, the department estimates that federal grant funds from multi-year USDA Specialty Crop Grants, Forest Legacy Grants, Urban Forestry Grants, and other grantors will total $1,064,080, resulting in the availability of $7,950,384 in funds to assist local farmers. But Agriculture Assistant Commissioner Diana Collingwood says currently the department does not employ enough specialized workers to reduce its dependency on outside assistance, which limits the number of farmers that can receive help with writing business plans and grant proposals. “Every time we need expertise we have to reach out to Puerto Rico or the mainland, and we will never get the quality of support we need if we don’t ...