Virgin Puree, a program to harvest, preserve and sell locally grown fruit – including produce collected from residents’ backyards – was introduced by the stakeholders at a press conference Wednesday at Sejah Farm.
Sponsors envision Virgin Puree will add millions of dollars to the local economy and provide a local food source at the same time. Fruit grown and sold by farmers and residents to Virgin Puree will be preserved as juice, dried or frozen. The goal of the program is to sell fruit products locally and to supermarkets and restaurants on the mainland.
“Everybody has a fruit tree in the yard,” said Dale Browne, owner of Sejah Farm. “Most of it goes to waste,” he said, adding that Virgin Puree will try to find the “hidden orchards.”
The Virgin Puree program will begin this weekend at Agrifest 2014.
Volunteers located near the Sejah Farm booth and produce stand will collect surveys from residents to determine the number of backyard fruit trees and the community’s interest in the agriculture industry.
The next step, according to Anthony Weeks, director of the St. Croix Economic Development Initiative, is research and development to determine the best products. The next step will be having focus groups test the products. Participants suggested mangos should be tested first, he said.
The end result will be pureed, frozen or dried products in local stores. The produce will generate income and less fruit will be wasted, Weeks said.
Stuart Weiss, agronomy program leader at the University of the Virgin Islands Agriculture Experimental Station, spoke at the press conference and said UVI should be included in the program. He said UVI has conducted soil, pasture and other research over the last 20 years. The fruit program should use the UVI infrastructure, research data and technical assistance, Weiss said.
The V.I. Agriculture Department, the St. Croix Economic Development Initiative and Sejah Farm have formed a nonprofit organization, the Virgin Islands Agriculture Development Corporation, to manage Virgin Puree and help farmers find funding and affordable insurance.
The Agriculture Department and Sejah Farm will collect produce and SEDI will serve as a “think tank,” Weeks said.
Weiss said funding is the farmers’ biggest issue. The local banks do not have agriculture lending programs and affordable insurance is a “huge, huge issue.”
According to Weeks, the Virgin Islands is the only U.S. jurisdiction that doesn’t produce an internal food supply. As an example of the financial potential of the program, Weeks said if each V.I. resident spent $10 a week on local produce, over $55 million would be circulated in the economy.
“The community is the greatest partner because they are the consumer,” said Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen.
Sub grants are available from the Agriculture Department for processing fruit, according to Petersen, but support from private sector is also needed. He said a “thriving, sustainable, economic” fruit industry is possible in the territory.
“Agriculture has a bigger role to play in our community than it is now,” Petersen said.
Agriculture plays a “serious role” in the economy and is a “viable business,” Weeks agreed. The founder of Whole Foods and a large U.S. restaurant chain indicated an interest in buying large amounts of fruit from St. Croix, according to Weeks.
The V.I. Agriculture Development Corporation is new organization that will include a board of directors and members from the farming and business communities. According to Weeks, the organization will help farmers apply for grants and loans and find affordable insurance.
The VIADC will also lobby for changes in the law and for new laws to provide exemptions for farmers, educational outreach, tax credits and resources to conduct research, Weeks said.
Attending the press conference were Sen. Terrence “Positive” Nelson and representatives from the offices of Sens. Sammuel Sanes and Craig Barshinger.
Nelson said he supports the program and that people will “get behind agriculture” when they see the economic benefits of selling their fruit.
“At one time, every acre on St. Croix was in production,” he said.
