And the challenge for the farmers for the upcoming crop season is that the demand was so high in the last one, they're now thinking about doubling their harvests. It may seem like a good thing, but as the Minister of Agriculture explained yesterday, there are several things that need to be taken into consideration. One is the national consumption, and another is the storage for all these crops. So, while a successful crop season should be celebrated, Jose Mai cautioned the farmers that there needs to be a balancing act with proper systems in place.
Hon. Jose Mai - Minister of Agriculture
"The farmers had a record year this year, most if not all of the product that was planted was harvested and sold at reasonable prices, there was very minimal losses, there was a well-controlled system for illegal importation, so farmers made well this year and we're happy for that. As a result of that, our extension officers have been in the field collecting data to find out what is the farmer's intention this year as we approach the planting season. We have had interest from farmers, for example potato, we are sure now that potato production right there they're gonna plant 100% more than last year. 100% potatoes, onions, we have 40% increase carrots, we have 50% increase lettuce, 100% for the flour, broccoli and celery. Now if you look at this on the official side, you'd say that's good, everybody wants to produce more but more production bring challenges and we have to inform farmers that while we have a national consumption, it will be consumed over time so the amount that is going to be planted is my concern, one, the consumption per week should be our concern. Storage and distribution is a concern so what we are telling them is we are monitoring carefully how much we are planting because they are happy, they did well, and the normal human reaction is they did well 2021, we will plant more and do better 2022. It is not necessarily like this when it comes to vegetables and fruits because they are perishable. We must have the mechanisms in place, the structure in place to store properly and the distribution so they are now listening and looking at the numbers and are concerned too so planning is very important here, staggering the production is critical important here. "
