Sweet potential
FARMER URGES AGRICULTURE MINISTRY TO PUSH PINEAPPLE PRODUCTION
Devon Slater showing the students a pineapple on his farm.
One of Barbados’ few pineapple farmers is suggesting that the Ministry of Agriculture start a national programme to grow the fruit on a larger scale and possibly cut the island’s food import bill.
Devon Slater told Barbados TODAY during a school tour of his Orange Hill, St James farm on Monday that there was great potential in the industry but measures needed to be implemented to build it out.
“I am proof that pineapples can grow in Barbados but we need more growers. I believe that the Ministry should have a lot of the land overrun in bush in St Andrew that has sandy soil, planted in pineapple; or people from St Andrew who are interested can start planting some. They can come to me and I can show them how to get going,” said Slater.
“If more Barbadians planted pineapples there would not be a need to import so much.
With the imported pineapples, you don’t know what is used to grow them but you know you will get quality when you plant yourself and these pineapples are sweet and nice.”
Slater has been growing the fruit for the past seven years and his hobby has turned out to be a viable business.
He said that, initially, he collected discarded pineapple crowns from vendors in The City, and people “used to look at me a kind of way going into the garbage and doubted me when I said you could plant them to grow pineapples”.
Slater wanted to prove the sceptics wrong and after conducting trials, he developed a method of growing the fruit that would produce more suckers than usual and produce the fruit in a shorter time.
It usually takes about 12 months for a pineapple to grow but Slater can produce them in just over six months.
One pineapple grows from the plant and that fruit usually produces a handful of suckers but, in most instances, Slater gets ten or more suckers.
He uses a soil mix collected from a nearby factory and grows the fruit in containers on an open field adjacent to his home.
After some time, Slater was able to acquire more pineapple varieties from his work colleagues, including honeydew and sugar sweet from Florida.
He now has seven varieties and more than 1 500 plants.
Passionate about seeing the pineapple industry developed in Barbados, he sells the fruit and suckers to interested growers and provides them with his secret techniques.
Slater said that if the Government was serious about encouraging people to grow more of what they ate and supporting local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture would create initiatives to get people to grow fruits and other produce not typically grown here.
“If they really mean business in Barbados they would plant more pineapples because local pineapples are sweeter than what you get in the supermarket. Everybody is running me down for my pineapples. So, I want Barbados to recognise the potential and if they need tips they can come and see me.
“I want all Barbadians and the Minister to know that this thing can happen, we can develop an industry; all we need to do is try.
I want to see more farms in Barbados with pineapples. I want to prove to the world that pineapples could be produced here,” he said.
A group of students in classes two, three and four at Silas Primary School visited the farm on Monday.
Science teacher Marcie-Ann Pollard- Edwards said the tour was a part of the school’s agriculture programme activities.
She said the school was planning to establish a small pineapple garden and Slater would be assisting the students in its development.
Sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
Devon Slater told Barbados TODAY during a school tour of his Orange Hill, St James farm on Monday that there was great potential in the industry but measures needed to be implemented to build it out.
“I am proof that pineapples can grow in Barbados but we need more growers. I believe that the Ministry should have a lot of the land overrun in bush in St Andrew that has sandy soil, planted in pineapple; or people from St Andrew who are interested can start planting some. They can come to me and I can show them how to get going,” said Slater.
“If more Barbadians planted pineapples there would not be a need to import so much.
With the imported pineapples, you don’t know what is used to grow them but you know you will get quality when you plant yourself and these pineapples are sweet and nice.”
Slater has been growing the fruit for the past seven years and his hobby has turned out to be a viable business.
He said that, initially, he collected discarded pineapple crowns from vendors in The City, and people “used to look at me a kind of way going into the garbage and doubted me when I said you could plant them to grow pineapples”.
Slater wanted to prove the sceptics wrong and after conducting trials, he developed a method of growing the fruit that would produce more suckers than usual and produce the fruit in a shorter time.
It usually takes about 12 months for a pineapple to grow but Slater can produce them in just over six months.
One pineapple grows from the plant and that fruit usually produces a handful of suckers but, in most instances, Slater gets ten or more suckers.
He uses a soil mix collected from a nearby factory and grows the fruit in containers on an open field adjacent to his home.
After some time, Slater was able to acquire more pineapple varieties from his work colleagues, including honeydew and sugar sweet from Florida.
He now has seven varieties and more than 1 500 plants.
Passionate about seeing the pineapple industry developed in Barbados, he sells the fruit and suckers to interested growers and provides them with his secret techniques.
Slater said that if the Government was serious about encouraging people to grow more of what they ate and supporting local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture would create initiatives to get people to grow fruits and other produce not typically grown here.
“If they really mean business in Barbados they would plant more pineapples because local pineapples are sweeter than what you get in the supermarket. Everybody is running me down for my pineapples. So, I want Barbados to recognise the potential and if they need tips they can come and see me.
“I want all Barbadians and the Minister to know that this thing can happen, we can develop an industry; all we need to do is try.
I want to see more farms in Barbados with pineapples. I want to prove to the world that pineapples could be produced here,” he said.
A group of students in classes two, three and four at Silas Primary School visited the farm on Monday.
Science teacher Marcie-Ann Pollard- Edwards said the tour was a part of the school’s agriculture programme activities.
She said the school was planning to establish a small pineapple garden and Slater would be assisting the students in its development.
Sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb