written by Madeleine Jardim McComas, Chairperson, Mango Menu Culinary Competition Committee
demonstrated good plant husbandry. A change of government, together with the growth of tourism and the hospitality industry in Antigua from the late 70s on, stalled the Christian Valley agricultural initiative even as it began to show great promise. Plans were shelved, government involvement was reduced to a minimum, and the beautiful fruit terraces fell into disuse, and became overgrown and unproductive. Into this vista of neglect came the Southern Baptist Convention of the USA, through the intervention of the local Central Baptist Church. In a collaboration that proved to be beneficial for Christian Valley, 20 acres of the valley were devoted to Brazilian cashew trees. The Southern Baptist initiative resulted in increased mechanization for the agricultural station, introducing tractor mowers and drip irrigation, which has since transformed agriculture in Antigua. Despite considerable interest from private farmers, the project was eventually handed over to the Antiguan government as a part of Christian Valley Agricultural Station, and the government agreed to provide planting material to all farmers. From 1988 to present, citrus and mango plants have been distributed extensively to local farmers. Experimental food processing labs were introduced throughout the Caribbean in the early 1980s, with British government assistance. A fruit processing unit was established at Dunbars Agricultural Station on Friars Hill Road, and fruit was supplied from Christian Valley and also from Cades Bay Pineapple Station. Dunbars developed a range of fruit preserves,
including jams, jellies, fruit cheeses, fruit leathers and solar dried fruit. Workshops were held to demonstrate these preservation techniques to interested local vendors. A tentative return to the land and to agriculture appeared to be emerging. And then disaster struck. Four powerful hurricanes ravaged Antigua between 1995 and 2000, with a disastrous impact on Christian Valley and other government agricultural stations. The first storm demolished the soursop orchard and felled many of the coconut trees. The citrus plantings were also damaged. Up in the forest, the hurricanes destroyed terraces and trails. Despite these setbacks, Christian Valley Agricultural Station has contributed since 1988 to the distribution of over 22,000 citrus plants and some 10,000 grafted mango plants for local cultivation. A change of government in 2004 brought renewed attention to Christian Valley. The new government introduced the concept of fruit and vegetable selfsufficiency for Antigua,and Christian Valley Agricultural Station became the place where this movement could best be demonstrated. Mr. Dandridge ‘Danny’ Joseph was appointed to manage the Agricultural Station, and to find ways to bring Christian Valley back to the productivity of the early 1970s. Danny Joseph was a man of vision, and he understood that once the fruit plantations were improved and in full production again, public awareness of the value of this fertile valley on a relatively dry island would greatly enhance his chances of success.
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