(a) Identify, preserve, advise for the purchase and manage all public agricultural resources and agricultural-zoned lands in the territory for the development of a sustainable agriculture industry;
(b) Encourage and assist the people of the Virgin Islands in raising, handling, grading, packing, shipping, processing and marketing of agriculture products;
(c) Ensure compliance with regulations as they pertain to the operation of all public farms;
(d) Secure and maintain statistical records of the production and harvest of various crops and livestock, and make the records available annually thirty days after the end of the fiscal year to the President of the Legislature for dissemination among the members of the legislature; to the Bureau of Economic Research and to the public via electronic and print media;
(e) Advice and assist farmers, in conjunction with the University of the Virgin Island and other relevant vocational entities in the territory, in the development and use of farm equipment and agricultural techniques;
(f) Administer, coordinate and enforce the provisions of this chapter, in cooperation with other appropriate departments of the Territorial and Federal Governments;
(g) Appoint, subject to the provisions of this chapter, such environmental enforcement officers, research staff, grant writers and other such personnel as are necessary for the proper and effective administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter;
(h) Work with the University of the Virgin Islands and other government agencies in the marketing, promotion, research, technical services and agricultural training programs, for the development of new agriculturist and the development of a labor force;
(i) In conjunction with the University of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Labor, develop a farm certification program in crop farming and livestock rearing;
(j) Assist the farming industry in the establishment of farming cooperatives; and
(k) Research the feasibility of creating a loan program to assist farmers in purchasing, maintaining, and expanding farms.