Agriculture Officers on Micro-Technique Training in Cassava Planting

December 02, 2019: Members of staff of the Extension Training and Information Services (ETIS) Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries (MALF) participated in a training session on methodologies and strategies for rapid multiplication of cassava.

The workshop was facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aimed at making the cassava industry a sustainable one. The day’s training was divided into three (3) phases. The first phase highlighted the use of imported tissue culture in the form of planting material. This process will ensure that the cassava crops will be high yielding, adaptable to field conditions, rich in starch content and above all good cooking quality.

The second phase showed the results from this new process used at farmer field schools at three (3) locations, Central, South and Tobago, where the new variety was planted alongside the local variety and they were both compared on several features including growth and yield.

In the final session, the extension officers were trained on the various techniques in multiplying cassava planting material and by extension, the multiplication and distribution of planting material to farmers.

Overall, twenty-six (26) Extension Officers from throughout the country participated in the session on the usage of micro-techniques in cassava planting at the Craignish Demonstration Station, Princes Town on Friday 29th November, 2019.

Facilitators for the workshop were Rishi Mohansingh, Entomologist, (Ag.), and Nigel Ramkhellawan, Agricultural Officer I.

Entomologist, (Ag.), Mr. Rishi Mohansingh (second from right) and Agricultural Officer I, Mr. Nigel Ramkhellawan (right) served as the facilitators for the workshop on methodologies and strategies for the rapid multiplication of cassava

A workshop participant tries her hand at a cassava planting technique.

Agriculture Officers on Micro-Technique Training in Cassava Planting