 Upon completion of a month-long agribusiness development training of the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, a group of farmers has signed an agreement to supply the St Lucia Marketing Board with local produce. This contractual arrangement is geared toward ensuring consistency in the supply of produce to satisfy the demand from the Ministry of Education for the School Feeding Program. National Project Coordinator of the FAO's School Feeding Program, Cherry Ann Smith, explains that the program's policy has been updated to include at least 80% locally grown foods. She notes that the recently completed training forms part of efforts to ensure that the food that gets to the children is not only wholesome but also safe for consumption. Our understanding is that the School Feeding Program in St Lucia as elsewhere have long been established and recognized as an important instrument in facilitating learning, especially for the poor and vulnerable children in St Lucia. Healthy and well-nourished children learn better. So today I am extremely proud of the 40 farmers that have completed the training in food safety and quality, low agrochemical like I mentioned, and I'm very happy about you wanting to participate in wanting to bring again safe food to the tables. According to the general manager of the St Lucia Marketing Board, Vincent Lacobignere, the main functions of the St Lucia Marketing Board includes stimulating agricultural production and facilitating the marketing of farm produce from farmers to consumer. He expressed that this agreement brings the organization closer to realizing its goals. We have to put some structure in agriculture. We cannot have the farmers as a producer and as a marketer. The farmer has to be and continue to be a producer. And if you put structures, then the farmers do not have to take a van and go and make kana. I say kana for my sisters, 12, 3, 4 in the morning. That is the role of the marketing agency. And that is the reason why I tell you I'm elated today to see that at least one of my dreams is beginning to come true. The agriculture ministry through collaborative efforts with sector partners have made commitments toward the improvement of the school feeding program and continued support for farmers within the industry. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting.