St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda – Antigua and Barbuda has taken a major step toward strengthening its agricultural independence with the opening of a new tissue culture laboratory that will allow the country to produce healthy planting materials locally on a much larger scale.

The facility, located in Bethesda, will enable researchers to rapidly multiply disease-free plants, helping farmers access stronger planting materials while also reducing the country’s dependence on external sources.

The facility is a partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Antigua and Barbuda government and made possible through an ongoing Bilateral Agricultural Technical Cooperation Project. The laboratory forms part of the third phase of the agricultural cooperation programme and will allow researchers to use tissue culture techniques to rapidly multiply healthy plant material locally.

Director of Agriculture Gregory Bailey says this is critical as farmers continue to face challenges that affect productivity and food security. He says it will enable the ministry to distribute site-specific planting materials.

“We’re now in a better position to  develop more clean planting material,  planting material in a timely manner and free of diseases, pests, etc. So it’s very critical, very important for us  because the issue of pests  and disease weighs heavily on food security  and the yield that we get from production.”

According to Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and the Blue Economy Anthony Smith Jr., the facility marks a significant milestone in the multi-year partnership between the Government and the PRC, describing it as a point where “science meets agriculture.”

The Minister said the facility will be particularly important for efforts to restore Antigua and Barbuda’s indigenous Black Pineapple, a crop that has been undergoing revitalisation. Previously, planting material had to be sent to St Vincent and the Grenadines for propagation because Antigua and Barbuda did not have its own dedicated tissue culture facility.

“Now we have our own tissue culture lab right here that we could move at a much faster pace and we can propagate so much more plant-based material right here on our own shores,” Smith said.

The facility is also expected to strengthen local scientific expertise, with the government planning to train nationals to manage operations over time. Smith revealed that an Antiguan specialist who recently completed a doctorate in tissue culture will work alongside technical experts from China to facilitate knowledge transfer.

The laboratory also marks a transition from previous agricultural research work carried out at Dunbars Agricultural Station. Staff from Dunbars will move to the new facility, which includes greenhouses, research buildings and approximately 10 acres of secured land. 

“When you go around the property we have fenced in just about 10 acres of land here, we have our greenhouses, we have two new buildings built for the research facility which was located at Dunbars before.”

The project’s Chinese partnership has also entered a new phase, with a new company, CTEXIC, taking over technical support from Longping High-Tech, which was involved during the first and second phases. Smith said CTEXIC will continue providing agricultural technology, expertise and support to further develop the sector.

The building will consist of several rooms including ones for research and development, warehouses, and offices for both the Ministry of Agriculture and the managing company CTEXIC.