News and Press

1890 EDEN AG conducts focus groups with farmers in the U.S. Virgin Islands

by ChaNae Bradley

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM

 

Members of the 1890-Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Advisory Group (AG) during a farm visit in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The 1890-Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Advisory Group (AG) recently traveled to St. Croix and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on a fact-finding trip with the goal of expanding research and Cooperative Extension programming opportunities on disaster management and grassroots resilience in the U.S. territories in the Caribbean.

During the trip the team conducted focus groups with local farmers and fisherman, Cooperative Extension professionals and representatives from government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO's). The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program provided funding for the trip.

The research and extension team included, Noel M. Estwick, Ph.D., assistant professor of agribusiness at Prairie View A&M State University, Michelle Eley, Ph.D., community and economic development specialist at North Carolina A&T State University, Christina Sanders, director of community and economic development for Washington State University Extension, Finis Stribling III, director of the Tennessee New Farmer Academy and Small Farms Program at Tennessee State University, ChaNae Bradley, senior communications specialist for Fort Valley State University’s Cooperative Extension, Patrick Holladay, Ph.D., executive lead for the Richardson Family Smart State Center for Economic Excellence in Tourism and Development Institute for Clean Water and Healthy Ecosystems at the University of South Carolina and Brennan Washington, outreach coordinator for SARE.

Estwick, chair of the 1890-EDEN AG, said the purpose of the trip was to conduct strategic conversations about disaster-related challenges facing the U.S. territories in the Caribbean.

“The team had extremely productive conversations with government officials, academia, farmers, fishers, NGOs representatives and other stakeholders. The AG gained a clearer understanding about challenges facing the U.S. Virgin Islands with regards to agricultural disasters. We successfully identified potential partnerships to specifically address how we (the AG, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and other USVI partners) can share resources, conduct relevant training, conduct research and develop programming that meaningfully addresses disaster related challenges,” Estwick said.

Fins Stribling III shares information with farmers on the campus of UVI St. Croix.

During the trip, the team visited the UVI St. Croix and St. Thomas campuses. The team was welcomed by Usman Adamu, Ph.D., dean of the UVI College of Agriculture, and Louis E. Petersen, Ph.D., commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture.

Also, the AG met with farmers on site as well as traveled to small farms on the islands including Sejah Farms and cattle farmer Frank Bermudez in St. Croix. In addition, the team traveled to St. Thomas and visited Shelly Brins Farm, Anna Wallace Farm and We Grow Food Inc. Likewise, the AG had a chance to visit agriculture research and Extension facilities and farms on the UVI campuses. 

“The highlight was visiting the farms – seeing firsthand the work that they are accomplishing, better understanding the crops they produce, and seeing the impacts of the storms they have managed to endure. I think that as a group we learned a lot about the challenges that each of those islands face on an ongoing basis – which will very much inform how best to move forward in planning future trips, relevant trainings and how best to help them navigate opportunities for acquiring funding,” Sanders said.

The 1890 EDEN AG visits Sejah Farms in St. Croix. They are accompanied by UVI Extension colleagues and Brennan Washington (far left) outreach coordinator for SARE.

In addition to visiting the farms, the AG listened to the concerns of the elected officials as well as the local fisherman and producers.

“Seeing firsthand the resiliency of the residents as well as the passion to preserve cultural traditions and agricultural practices was a memorable part of the conversations. I believe that the visit was a step towards obtaining knowledge to be able to take advantage of the resources available by SARE and other grant funding agencies who advocate for disaster preparedness and mitigation,” Bradley said.

Risse Richards, deputy commissioner for the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, shared her concerns. “We need grant writers, and we need professionals to help us manage data,” Richards said. She said this will help farmers improve record keeping practices, agribusiness and improve infrastructure like reconstructing local roads.

St. Thomas farmer Laura Martin expressed a need for improved communication before disasters.“We need a coordinated system that reaches everyone,” Martin said.

After the visit to the Virgin Islands, Estwick identified potential next steps with the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture and the UVI Extension.

“The potential to work with the government through the Commissioner of Agriculture, academia and community stakeholders to create a mechanism where producers can share information about disaster experiences is evident. The goal is to foster resilience in the face of agricultural disasters. There is also the prospect for our colleague Finis Stribling III and the AG to work with partners in the VI to create a farm academy structure for the U.S Caribbean territories,” Estwick said.

The aim of the 1890-EDEN AG is to work with USDA-NIFA, the Extension Foundation and EDEN on strategies developed in the AG action plan to build emergency management capacity in the 1890 community and beyond. An associated goal is to identify and form strategic collaborations to achieve the action plan goals and deliver programs, information and resources tailored for limited resource clientele. Accordingly, this trip was a follow-up to work carried out in funded SARE project LS2-0343, in preparation for plans to secure future funding to expand the disaster work of the AG into the United States territories in the Caribbean.

For more information about this project, contact Noel M. Estwick, Ph.D. at nmestwick@pvamu.edu.

  • Categories:
  • FVSU Agriculture College
  • Tags:
  • Extension

Media Contact