 A 12-week blended course in the use of drone technology sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, is currently under way with officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development. FAO consultants, leading the drone training, Dr. Kim Baldwin, concluded five days of intensive face-to-face sessions, teaching the team of technical officers professional flying methods for risky environments using international standards for drone technology. Dr. Baldwin explains that this technology consists of a multitude of applications which can be used to simplify processes within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development. So what the team here has realized in the first month of training is there a multitude of applications. Just this week we've discussed of how the drones can be using for mapping farmlands, looking at vegetation health, stress, pests, but also being able to use it for larceny, monitoring, surveillance, enforcement, using the drones for disaster management, insurance claims, using it also for climate change. We went out, we mapped sargassum seaweed this week, so you're able to map the abundance and quantity of sargassum that's washing up on the beaches. That's a national priority, not just here in St. Lucia, but across the whole Caribbean. Deputy Director of Agricultural Services, Barry Innocent, says the training in the areas of drone flying and safety practices, mapping and modeling is another breakthrough for the agricultural ministry in achieving its goal of increasing climate resilience and sustainability within the sector. Due to the topography of the St. Lucia geographical context and the fact that hurricane seasons come and agricultural officers sometimes have to go and get data in extreme sensitive areas when it comes to how dangerous they are, the drone technology has proven to be something that can get us the data we need quickly and safely. Areas that an agricultural officer or a field worker cannot go to get information, a drone can quickly go in there and take it in a much quicker time. Food with the software is attached to the drone. We can provide data on various things for us, from topography to soil type to vegetation and also even pest and disease to a certain extent. So the drone technology provides a good caption of relevant and significant data that gives us or allows us to make informed management decisions about agricultural sector in St. Lucia. Upon successful completion of the training in July, the team of technical officers would be certified in drone flying. It is expected that the agriculture ministry will realise its ultimate goal of knowledge sharing and capacity development among other officers in the agricultural sector. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting.