Basseterre, 19th February, 2021 (SKNIS): There are several advantages to be derived from backyard gardening which is subsistence farming, says Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Kyle Flanders, during his appearance on “Working for You” on February 17.
 
Subsistence farming is defined as farming or a system of farming that provides all or almost all the goods required by the farm family usually without any significant surplus for sale.
 
One advantage Mr. Flanders pointed out was saving money.
 
“Everyone is concerned about their pockets. Therefore if you’re doing backyard farming you are going to reduce your supermarket bill,” he said.
 
The second advantage he mentioned was that persons can eat healthier.
 
“People complain about the chemicals being put into the plants that are being imported,” he said. “But if you plant them yourself, you know what is in the ground, you know what you are doing. It’s as organic as organic can be. So therefore there might not be a problem as it relates to that.”
 
The third advantage mentioned was food security.
 
“It would have just been a talking point back in the day, but COVID taught us that not anymore, we need to get this thing happening,” he said. “Therefore, we can use backyard gardening to make sure persons have nutritious foods at their fingertips.”
 
Mr. Flanders said that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #2 deals with zero hunger by 2030, and that subsistence farming can help with this.