A clarion call has been made by key agriculture industry leaders to local farmers, for sustaining productivity and growth within the sub-sector. This comes on the heels of a recent trade mission to the United Kingdom where new markets, opportunities and partnerships were forged to ensure the Saint Lucia brand of bananas have more visibility on the UK market.

The delegation has been able to begin penetration of the French market as well, having begun a three week banana shipping trial last week.

Operations Manager of the National Fairtrade Organisation, Stephen Best, said that consistency is key; and even while the Ministry of Agriculture and by extension the Government of Saint Lucia employ strategies to effectively bolster economic activity within the banana industry, farmers themselves must ensure that they are consistent with their supply and quality of bananas for export.

Mr Best further explained that once farmers respond in kind to the efforts being made by agriculture leaders in attaining and sustaining new markets, the entire country stands to reap the benefits under this plan.

Coordinator of the Banana Productivity Improvement Project, Kerde Severin, said that the program’s activities will continue to strategically address areas and concerns which could adversely impact productivity within the sub-sector.

This year, the Banana Productivity Improvement Project has also earmarked about 300 acres of land to come into new banana production.