Scores of Vincentians are transforming their outdoor spaces into vegetable gardens, as part of efforts to contribute to a healthier lifestyle.

This was made evident through the National Home Gardening Competition, spearheaded by the Rural Transformation Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Ministry recently held its Prize Giving and Award Ceremony, where awards were presented in categories of Management of Crop, Mixed System (Crop & Livestock), Layout, Technology and Innovation, Sustainability and Highest Yield.

Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer, Colville King highlighted the benefits of backyard gardening.

"Home garden provides a constant source of fresh, a fresh supply of fruit and vegetable that ensures your nutrition. Home Gardens are also a very vital source of diversity. I don't know how many persons come across flavor pepper, our traditional... our boileen pepper, the old time chive, the old time ginger, chi chi raw etc. that you don't get in the seed supply shops. Home Garden provides a source for those planting materials and seeds. And often you have air lube seeds which are not hybrid and that vital function I guess we have to pay a bit more attention to because we have lost too many of what we called our native or local variety."

The top three winners of the National Home Gardening Competition are Olivia DaSilva; Heather Stewart and Phyllis Antoine-Peters

Agricultural tools were distributed to each participant who took part in the competition.

SOURCE: National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC Radio)