While there has been a noted disinterest in the cultivation of some of the traditional agricultural food crops in Anguilla, occasioned to some extent by the ageing and passing of growers, there is every reason for encouragement that farming on the island is still alive and well.

Alternative and more profitable employment has had its impact on agriculture, but there are some smart and visionary persons who realise that with the increasing demands on the food chain, and the growing number of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, there is an opportunity to earn ready money from certain aspects of farming. As a result, agricultural activity has taken on a new dimension with the local production of abundant crops of vegetables which compete well with imports.
The problem is that there is not enough patronage of local produce, resulting at times in losses of valuable and tasty tomatoes, sweet peppers, pumpkins, cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, chives and other greens, including papayas, in the cultivation plots or at the road-side outlets. Although young and enterprising farmers will earn better pay for their produce by selling it themselves, more supermarkets (other than Proctor’s, Ashley’s, etc) should assist local producers by providing an organised market for them at fair prices taking into account the cost of labour, water and other circumstances involved and the preference among consumers for locally-grown products.

Anguilla can cut down on some of its vegetable imports and save foreign exchange by giving local producers an opportunity to supply a greater percentage of the market. If this were to be the case, one can assume that it would lead to a significant increase of vegetable farming on the island. Agricultural plots, many with irrigation systems in place, are springing up in many areas and even persons with so-called white-collar jobs are going into profitable farming.

The Government, and its Department of Agriculture, need to do more to encourage local farmers. While plots of Crown Land in the Valley and Wallblake have been made available to a number of persons, there are other areas in which assistance could be provided. These can include more manageable water rates, less ploughing fees and help in sourcing and obtaining seeds, insecticides and soil nutrients at subsidised costs. A great need must be the encouragement and protection of the local produce market and where possible, as indicated above, some restraints on certain imports. The effort is worth trying especially if more persons were to become involved in farming and cash-crop production as well as in egg farms.

There is a disturbing matter that needs addressing. Large tracts of arable land are virtually being destroyed as a number of persons are scraping off the top soil and selling it to construction projects. It is that top soil on which our forefathers raised their families and which is still needed for our survival and the beauty of Anguilla today. When it is sold, at whatever cost, it is gone forever but when it is kept and cultivated, it has an ongoing cultural heritage and economic value that is difficult to estimate. Let us give farmers an opportunity to benefit from Anguilla’s land as much as possible.

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