Agriculture is being boosted with a community garden planned for each parish the House of Assembly was told this morning.Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the public works minister, said the Government owned 38 plots of arable land across the island, with 32 leased.He cited the Crow Lane Community Garden as a “perfect example of a project that leads to a wider community collaboration well beyond gardening”. A community garden at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Park has proven “very successful and well received by the Southampton community”, he said.Colonel Burch said two sites were “competing to come online next”: Avocado Lodge Park, at the top of Corkscrew Hill, and the TN Tatem Community Partners Garden.There are three other sites on the horizon: Southlands East, a plot at Tudor Farm and the St David’s Community Garden.Colonel Burch said there had been a high demand for mulch from the Marsh Folly facility, showing that members of the public were developing their own backyard gardens.He said he had told the parks department to add a record of production output to its registry of community gardens.Colonel Burch added: “I would also like to invite those private landowners who have unused plots of land that is suitable for a community garden to consider creating one.He said the Department of Parks would be “more than willing to lend a hand in getting it organised”.• To read Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch’s statement in full, click on the PDF under “Related Media”