Ministry Of Agriculture One Step Closer to Introducing Online Services at Basseterre Public Market

MOA Basseterre, St. Kitts; On Thursday 2nd November 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Marine Resources and Cooperatives partnered with officials from 869ToGo to provide E-Service training to staff of the Basseterre Public Market.

This training comes weeks after ongoing discussions to introduce online ordering services at the Public Market. The staff eagerly participated in the training and acknowledged the importance of implementing innovative strategies that can increase customer traffic and improve accessibility to healthy and nutritious food.

The Public Market’s online platform provides customers with the option to purchase organic products including local fruits, vegetables, and meat products from the comfort of their homes. Market vendors who ply their trade at the facility every week will also benefit significantly from this new initiative as the use of technology will help to expand their reach, boost sales, and improve services offered.

While commenting on the new initiative, Deputy Director at the Department of Agriculture, Alphonso Shawn Clarke said, “This is indeed a proud and historic moment because traditionally persons would have to physically be at the Public Market to purchase their products, so now this will be done from their homes.

We are extremely excited about the launch of this online service.” He added that the Ministry of Agriculture led by Permanent Secretary Miguel Flemming is “on a mission to significantly impact the agricultural landscape in an unprecedented way by delivering tangible benefits to key stakeholders which would include farmers, producers, vendors, and consumers.” –