Female rural farmers on the island are presently engaged in the production of onions and sorrel through a project known as the “Empowerment of Agricultural Women’s Movement.”
The project was established by the Dominica National Council of Women (DNCW) and is funded by the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) with additional assistance from United Nations (UN) Women.
Immediate Past President of the Dominica National Council of Women (DNCW), Josephine Dublin-Prince told Dominica News Online that the project was introduced because of a downturn of the banana industry which women were very much involved in.
“They too were very much involved in family farming with bananas and they were packers, carriers, planters themselves,” she said. “We too as a normal women organization has a role to respond to the economic need of our members and women generally, and if that need is not fulfilled, other social issues may creep in.”
Prince said the DNCW decided to introduce sorrel to the project to add value to the market and to also have it available when it is not in season.
She described the project as one which is beneficial to farmers.
“I think it was beneficial because even from the comments from some of the women, some of them were able to pay their loans, some of them were able to contribute to their household income, some of them were able to have some needed cash that they could feed their family with,” she explained.
She noted further that basically there were two phases to the project.
“Initially the CFLI and then a two-year project from September 2012 and 2014 and that was the second phase supported by UN Women,” Dublin-Prince noted.
She stated the next phase will consist of women growing more onions with support from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Farmers from Bense, Marigot, Wesley and Portsmouth have already benefited from the project.
In my experience as organic grower, onions of many types (so long as they are “short-day” types) grow beautifully in Dominica 100% organically. Hoping Government aid for this initiative will support its own Nature Island/Organic Dominica goal and NOT advise or “help” with provision or use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides. There is no reason we can’t be 100% self-supplying, plus have excess organic onions to export.
Excellent initiatives with growing sorrel and onions. How about growing garlic? Onions and garlic are healthy to consume and cook with.
A few months ago I purchased a 10 lb bag of onion at the grocery store which was on sale for $1.99 – imagine. This is in Toronto. That is a lot of onions. I thought, let me check on Google for onion recipes. Wow! I saw a lot of them and saved them. They can be prepared in different ways, cooked in whatever you choose as meat and stew, etc., baked, roasted, onion casseroles and in other casseroles. I can inform you I was happy to get them and will be making good use of them.
If any readers wish, you can Google the benefit of onion and garlic.
I also got a few Sorrel recipes as also Jamaican Sorrel. The color of sorrel is the same color as cranberry. Both of them are used at Christmastime and are healthy.
Good luck and success lady farmers. You are doing well and are hard workers.
God bless you always and with your endeavors.
You probably know there are different types of onions as also, small round ones, purple colored-ones and sweet ones, the latter which could also be used in salads. They are all nutritious. Yummy!
very great development for women hoping that more women will get involved. .The comments on this major project is not getting a resounding comment.I suspect people are very slow to support a worthy gesture
“There was no confirmation…” That should be