It might not have been earth-shattering news, but Sunday’s open air “agri-cultural” market (see Monday paper) was welcomed by many. The idea of the St. Peters Community Gardens Research and Development Centre was to give farmers and vendors a chance to exhibit and sell their home-grown produce as well as increasing awareness about the importance of local farming and its benefits to promote a healthier lifestyle.
Currently practically everything consumed has to be imported, which makes the island quite vulnerable. In addition, mass-produced food is usually not the best because of the widespread use of pesticides and other potentially harmful practices to maximise profits.
The explanations and demonstrations provided at the event should convince at least a few of those who attended that growing some of one’s own vegetables and/or fruit on a small scale is less difficult than many may realise. With today’s technical advances and widely available knowledge it is not only possible, but actually relatively easy.
Of course, “working the land” will still be looked down on by some, but this is quickly changing. More and more one can see special promotions for local agricultural products in supermarkets.
Also abroad people are realising that being selective about what one eats pays dividends. The visitors who drive the destination’s tourism economy are no exception and even the restaurants catering to them have increasingly started to notice this trend.
Those responsible deserve praise for organising this interesting, forward-thinking activity and should not be discouraged by naysayers who claim farming will never amount to much on “The Friendly Island.” Keep it up and prove them wrong.
