 In response to a request from the Ministry of Agriculture for Shrees Food Security and Rural Development, the Taiwan Technical Mission dedicated its expertise to conducting eight advanced chemical analysis training sessions at the National Agriculture Diagnostic Facility throughout the month of September 2023. These sessions aim to hone the skills of six participants with an intensive course covering HPLC principles, analytical methods, practical operations, and AAS principles. During a recent briefing, the Agriculture Minister received the course results from the Taiwan Technical Mission, along with an analysis and recommendations for enhancing the National Agriculture Diagnostic Facilities operations. Ambassador of the Republic of China Taiwan to St. Lu Xia, His Excellency Peter Chai-en Chen, highlighted the importance of these initiatives in advancing agricultural practices, underscoring the strong bilateral bond, and the enduring commitment to fostering technical excellence in agriculture, ultimately benefiting the people of St. Lu Xia. Mr. Lu, he conducts pesticide residue warship in the Ministry of Agriculture. And we are so glad that we will be able to response the Ministry of Agriculture's request for doing this warship, trying to use the existing equipment to detect pesticide residue. And I think that warship is really in time and also very needed for promoting agriculture and promoting food security and food safety. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Honourable Alfred Prospe, expressing his gratitude to the Taiwan Technical Mission for their continued support in building capacity within the agriculture sector, highlighted the potential advantages of the Advanced Chemical Analysis training, as well as the assessment done on the National Agriculture Diagnostic Facility. Food safety standards must be priority number one. So I believe the facility has the potential to be able to do that. But I believe in terms of the agro-processing sector, our agro-processing are challenged in terms of a number of areas like food safety standards, nutrition, labeling, and so on. And if we have to take this agro-processing sector to the next level, we must ensure that the NAAF continue to provide the services that it is intended to do. And I am happy that they have been able to identify some of the challenges in terms of human resource, the high cost of the equipment needed to do that, and to also indicate their interest in assisting and working with St. Lucia to improve and make things better. With a newfound understanding gained from the analysis, Minister Prospe says the Agriculture Ministry is prepared to support agricultural productivity and food security, guaranteeing a prosperous future for St. Lucia's agriculture sector. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Antoine reporting.