 A groundbreaking collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, the World University Service of Canada, and A&E Agrochemicals has seen the initiation of a agrochemical inputs trial across four demo plots in St. Lucia. The objective of this partnership is to explore the efficacy of these inputs as an alternative to traditional chemical fertilizers and pesticides with a focus on promoting sustainable farming practices. The country coordinator of the WUSC Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean Project, Dr. Nadia Paket Anselm, expressed her satisfaction with the initial results observed on the watermelon farm demo plot, emphasizing the opportunity it provides for stakeholders to witness the benefits of agrochemical inputs. She explains that based on the results, the farmers have experienced an enhancement in productivity and have adopted a more economically viable method of farming. What we are hoping to happen here is have the testimony from the farmers who are using these products, because we heard some testimonies earlier on from, you know, 7 tons to 14 tons or 7 truckloads to 14 truckloads of watermelons being harvested from these fields. And here we are trialing watermelons, but the other areas we are trialing are other crops like cucumbers. And of course, if we can have through the use of this product in a sustainable manner and through the use of this product in a cost-effective manner, the farmers can use this product, which is formulated here nationally in St. Lucia by a St. Lucia young entrepreneur. We anticipate to see an augmented input in productivity as well as augmented output in aesthetics and quality of the product that is harvested. The farmer would have testified that he's received the product in a shorter span of time, reduced by two weeks. That means a lot because if you could use this very same input in terms of cost of production and you could increase productivity and have a better product in St. Lucia, then it means quite a bit. Director of Agricultural Services, Dr. Aria King-Snack, expressed the Ministry of Agriculture's enthusiasm for this collaboration and the government's commitment to supporting initiatives that sustainably enhance the agriculture sector. She states that the partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture, Whisk Caribbean and A&E agrochemicals set a commendable precedent for fostering collaboration and innovation in pursuing a more sustainable and resilient agriculture sector. And all of these things are things that we are looking to do to help make or cushion the blue that the farmers are now facing with the increased cost of production, the increase in inputs and so on. So this project comes at a good time. Again, as I said, we're trying to ensure that St. Lucia remains food secure. We're trying to ensure that our farmers, their livelihood continues with all of what is happening in the world, with the war, with COVID-19 and all of the other components that are affecting our agricultural sector. As the demo plots continue to be monitored and evaluated, stakeholders anticipate valuable insights that will aid in shaping future agricultural practices in St. Lucia. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Antoine reporting.