r-
 method for releasing the land that is being held for speculative
 purposes. The government should either purchase or lease large
 Suits of land wad thendistribute or sub-lease that land to individual
-farm operators. I-

 The problem of obtaining sufficient labor of satisfactory!
 quality for agricultural operations is a significant constraint and&
 ,difficult to solve.1 The only solution that the author sees is either
 toipromote family or cooperative farming so that no outside labor
 is needed, or that consideration be given to expansion of those,'
 'agicuturie' it-erprises which are not labor intensive. The machi-,
 'ieriy and agricultural input problem can be solved through pro-,
 moting farm cooperative and agri-business with or without assis-
 tance from the government.


 Of greatest concern, perhaps, is the fact that the majority
of our farmers are advanced in age. The average age of the Virgin
Islands' farmer is 54. The second generation of farmers is not there
to provide continuity to some very successful agricultural enter-
prises. True, there is an interest and some enthusiasm among
young people but they need training and experience necessary to
be a successful farmer in this competitive world where a winning
combination of technology and proper management is a must.
This situation of requiring training and support to the new genera-
tion of farmers poses a real challenge to educators and community
leaders. At the College of the Virgin Islands, we welcome the
challenge and are ready to do our part to the best of our capability.