Scores of Virgin Islands residents strolled through the parking lot of the Reichhold Center for the Arts this weekend, taking in the attractions of the 1999 Agriculture and Food Fair. It offered literally something for every member of the family.
Tables of fresh produce, plants, livestock displays, beekeeping demonstrations and examples of composting were all part of the offerings.
The theme for this 19th annual fair, "Farm every day for a healthy Y2K," suggested that the territory take on a new posture as it approaches the next millennium. Fair organizing committee chair Louis Petersen said the time has come for agriculture to be taken seriously as an industry in the islands.
"We want to enter the new millennium thinking of ourselves as producers and not simply as consumers," he said. "We need to prepare for ourselves, as opposed to asking others to prepare for us, beginning with the food we consume."
In remarks at the opening ceremonies Saturday, University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean praised the efforts of those who toil daily in the fields. "St. Thomas is known as Rock City," he noted, "and if you are successful in farming among the rocks, you are to be commended."
Kean also spoke of the university’s involvement in agricultural development through the Cooperative Extension Service and the Agricultural Research Station.
Agriculture Commissioner Henry Schuster provided an overview of the administration’s commitment to farming in the Virgin Islands, while admitting that certain key issues remain unresolved, including long-term leases for St. Thomas farmers who have been cultivating government-owned land in Bordeaux for years without any formal agreement.
"It is an issue that must be resolved," Schuster said.
Highlights of the fair on Sunday included a sweetbread competition that even attracted entries from St. Croix, and the fair's first-ever maubi-making competition.
