MARIGOT--The work of We Agree with Culture Association in developing the Bellevue market gardens project to the extent it has become was praised roundly by several speakers at the fifth Agriculture Fair on Sunday.
About three-quarters of the project site is now under cultivation with a diverse range of vegetables and fruits grown in fertile, self-sufficient conditions. However, there is a lot more to the project than meets the eye as the association, with the help of financial subventions, branches out into education, training programmes, employment and eco-tourism.
Rain showers threatened in the early morning, but the day remained dry and the public came and went, browsing the many stands of natural remedies, home-made ice cream, cakes and pies, arts and crafts, while listening to the Jolly Boys or touring the gardens.
The Jolly Boys, accompanied during some numbers by Fabien Charbonnier of the St. Martin Tourism Office on guitar, were well-received.
Fresh produce saw some brisk sales around mid-morning and the sale of natural juices, veggie burgers and other foods was also very good.
Speeches were given by Senator Louis-Constant Fleming, who loaned the land to the association for the project back in 2006, President Frantz Gumbs, Environmentalist Andre Samuel of Anguilla, Jocelyn Richardson and Mervin Butcher of the Dutch side's Agriculture Department, Nicole Piper of the Collectivité's Sustainable Development Department, Sandy Ground on the Move President Julien "Bajan" Richardson and Ras Touza Jah Bash of We Agree with Culture Association.
President Gumbs praised Ras Touza's association for the "courage and consistency" that allowed the seeds of an idea to grow into the scale of the project today.
"It is not only a seed for agriculture, but also culture," he said. "The association is giving back to St. Martin what St. Martin always had in the old days."
Nicole Piper said the association set a good example of a group "making it happen" and should advance now from the local stage to promoting the project internationally. "We are capable, competent and advancing. For St. Martin to be progressive in its economy we have to concentrate on the international world and sell what we have," she said.
Julien Richardson lauded the project for its self-reliance and its help towards the economy and the population's health.
"It sends a message that we need to go back and till the ground," he said. "Our forefathers never imported anything. We need to limit or wipe out the chemicals that are destroying our health. We must start exporting and creating more projects like this elsewhere on the island. The more we can grow ourselves the less we have to go shopping. In the old days people had less money, but they were rich because they cultivated more."
Jocelyn Richardson put emphasis on production, given the prediction of food shortages in the future.
"Touza has laid the groundwork for us to get back into production. Agriculture in St Martin can be very viable as a business too. We should look at possibilities to get into production before someone else from outside does it. There are a lot of different approaches to production and we should embrace it as a business venture."
Mervin Butcher said one of the challenges was to limit the number of imports while continuing to promote agriculture and solicit funding.
"We must also educate ourselves more about diseases, pesticides and pests we need to keep out of the island. Agriculture seems to attract apathy, but projects such as this can be started in our communities in a small way, in our kitchen gardens, and can grow from there."
The afternoon was devoted to honouring the large number of elders who have contributed to nation building. The fair also featured live music with bands playing on Saturday night and Sunday.
