Antigua and Barbuda is set to take a significant step forward in agricultural modernisation, with the Minister of Agriculture announcing that a new Tissue Culture Laboratory in Bethesda will officially open within the coming week, according to Antigua News Room.
The facility will support agricultural development by producing disease-free, high-quality plant material for farmers and agricultural programmes across the twin-island nation.
Plant tissue culture laboratories employ modern biotechnology techniques to grow plants from small tissue samples under sterile laboratory conditions. The process enables scientists to rapidly produce large numbers of genetically identical, healthy plants. The technology is widely used to propagate economically important crops such as bananas, pineapples, root crops, and ornamentals, while minimising the spread of plant diseases.
The Bethesda facility is expected to increase crop production, improve plant quality, strengthen food security, and bolster the resilience of the local agricultural sector.
Cabinet welcomed the announcement, as reported by Antigua News Room, noting that the laboratory will play an important role in modernising agriculture and equipping farmers with improved planting materials to enhance productivity.
