March 18, 2008 — St. Croix's Farmers need better access to irrigation and its restaurants need a consistent, timely supply of high-quality produce, according to a just-completed study.
The study was put together collaboratively by the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service, the University of Arkansas and a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. It surveyed farmers, policy makers and hospitality businesses on the constraints these groups see to expanding the use of local farm produce on St. Croix, then offered recommendations.
Eric Wailes of the University of Arkansas gave a PowerPoint presentation of the study's findings Monday evening at UVI to a gathering of senators, agriculture officials, farmers and local food advocates.
"Many of the farmers think restaurants are not interested in buying local produce," Wailes said. "But restaurant owners told us, 'Yes, we are interested.'"
Projecting a graph of the survey results, Wailes said a large majority of restaurant owners want to buy more local produce, but need a supply chain that will meet their needs for high quality, consistent supply and timely, predictable delivery.
"Farmers didn't rate quality as high as restaurants," Wailes said. "Restaurants are saying quality matters a lot, and they are willing to pay for quality."
At the same time, chefs at resorts tend to come and go and often don't know about some of the more unique produce that grows on St. Croix, he said.
"What the data says to me is, the restaurants really don't know when or how to use these unique, exotic, local fruits," he sad. "These are items I think need some special attention in terms of promoting local production, some education for restaurants on the types of produce available on the island and some work on educating tourists who come here. Before I came here, I had no idea what a guavaberry was. It is really interesting area I think needs to be promoted."
Farmers listed access to irrigation water as their single greatest concern. Other major concerns for farmers are the high cost of labor, access to land and the cost of transportation.
Wailes made two principal recommendations: First, address the constraints on expanding agriculture, including farmers' access to water, labor and land and vendors' need for infrastructure, consistent supply and information. Second, but more concretely: Initiate a pilot program between farmers and chefs, a kind of educational exchange to increase communication between the two groups and help them find ways to work together.
"There needs to be a formal education or indoctrination on Virgin Islands agriculture within the restaurant industry, " he said. "The education needs to go the other way too, emphasizing the importance of quality and timeliness."
As part of this pilot project, Wailes wants to establish a production-to-market contract system, where restaurants could contract in advance with farmers for a seasonal supply of a certain quantity of specific produce.
Meanwhile, there are areas where there is room for growth right now in local production and consumption. While the territory has already initiated a honey-production program, Wailes said there is "significant room for local growth in honey."
There is a huge and unmet existing demand for fresh culinary herbs, too, he said.
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