CATEGORY: POLITICS
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article represents the views, policies and vision of the New National Party (NNP) headed by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell. The NNP has been in office since 1995 - for three consecutive terms. In the last general election, the NNP won 8 of the 15 seats that were contested.



Agriculture:
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The total cost to the sector after ‘Ivan’ was estimated at EC$119M with the total cost of ‘Emily’ at EC35.5Million. The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries embarked on an Agricultural Emergency Rehabilitation Project (AERP). The aim is to revitalize economic activity in the sector and enhance farmer’s capacity to rapidly improve the status of local food production – including food crops and meats.

A total of 3,777 farmers and 13,858 workers benefited from this project. 5,423 acres of land were cleared, with bananas being the crop most cultivated because of its short time-span to bring in revenue and its ability to serve as a shade crop. Having identified the main issues affecting agriculture the Agricultural Enterprise Development Programme (AEDP) aims to address most of these issues through a coordinated approach of a restructured Extension Service and an Agricultural Enterprise Development Taskforce (AEDTF) which will work closely with respective organizations and institutions providing financial services, market information, market development and labour services etc.

The Extension Service, which is geared to provide direct assistance to farmers, is deemed critical. Out of over three hundred (300) applications, ninety-five (95) young persons have received training and have been certified in the first phase of Extension Officer Training. Ninety (90) of these persons are currently accepted for phase two of the extension training which commenced in September. The ongoing development in this area will address a major need. With Agriculture viewed as the ‘breadbasket’ of our society, Government continues to give support to farmers in the form of labour, fertilizer, irrigation, shade houses, seeds, animals and technical advice. The effect of this can now be seen in the form of the abundant supply of vegetables and bananas.