NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 19, 2021)- – Several members of staff at the Ministry and Department of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) have been awarded for their hard work and dedication over the past two years, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Receiving the special awards were Travis Swanston- Small Farm Equipment Pool; Clive Maynard- Indian Castle Farm; Beverly Lord- Potworks; Ingrid Chisholm- New River Estate; Fiona Leitch-Beaton- Prospect Estate; Junny Taylor- Abattoir; Daven Smith- Marketing Unit; Kelvin Phillips- Agro-processing; Te-Shell Sutton- Veterinary Division; Junior Williams- Livestock Division; Elary Jeffers- Cades Bay Estate; Deazjorn Jeffers- Extension Unit; and Grace Leitch- Quarantine Unit. Kejel Phipps was awarded most improved employee at the Abattoir.
Denrick Liburd, Andrew Leitch, the Small Farm Equipment Pool Unit, and the Propagation Unit were also given special recognition for their work during the pandemic.
During the Agriculture Awards Ceremony, held recently at the Cades Bay Orchard, Deputy Premier Hon. Alexis Jeffers, Minister of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) distributed the awards and congratulated the recipients.
Mr. Huey Sargeant, Permanent Secretary in Agriculture, commended the awardees for their hard work over the past two years, especially under the conditions of a pandemic.
“We want to congratulate you and urge you to continue. We want these awards to serve as motivation for you but also as an inspiration for other persons in the agriculture sector. We recognize that persons work hard in this sector and we want to make sure that we award and reward those efforts. Those efforts are an example for further growth in the sector,” he said.
Mr. Randy Elliott, Director of Agriculture, said the awards served to recognize members of staff who would have gone above and beyond within the last two years.
“Also, there are some divisions within the Department that would have worked tirelessly, especially last year during the pandemic, to ensure that our stimulus packages and programs were well in place,” he highlighted.
The Ministry also recognized a number of stakeholders for their support of the sector. RAMS Supermarket, Four Seasons Resort Nevis, and the Charlestown Pre-school received awards as top purchasers of locally grown food from the Marketing Unit.