Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Harold Guiste, has said that there is a “bombardment” of requests for agricultural produce from Dominica to various markets around the world.
Guiste was speaking at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Accountability Seminar on Wednesday, August 2nd at the Fort Young Hotel.
According to the government official, there are also persons who make special requests to come to Dominica to contribute to the agricultural sector plus potential markets in areas such as Holland.
“Some of the people making these requests are even coming here to try to get land to grow the things themselves because they value the nature isle. They want the image, so there is a guy from Germany who is here; he wants to get land for him to produce passion fruits and some African melon…there is another from Holland requesting large containers of stuff and then we have the U.S. market and the U.K. market and so on,” Guiste said.
As a result of these requests, the Ministry of Agriculture is “gearing up” to see what can be done to take advantage of these initiatives and through a dasheen expansion program, quotas for various markets have been set in order to meet the demands.
“The Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on a project to increase production of dasheen as an economic crop for Dominica. In that regard, a dasheen expansion program has been developed to meet at least two containers of dasheen to the U.S., maybe one or two to the U.K. and other produce to be taken by hucksters through the region,” Guiste revealed.
He highlighted how this aspect of the agricultural sector fits in well with the motives of IICA in that twenty-five fresh produce exporters, pack house operators and farmers have received assistance in increasing their knowledge on post harvest handling, quality standards, and traceability for dasheen and other root crops through a two-day workshop where IICA formed part of the collaborating organizations.
A “comprehensive assessment” was also conducted on the potential of the coffee sub sector.
“At the request of the ministry of agriculture, IICA assisted with a comprehensive assessment of the coffee subsector in Dominica, and produced a report with recommendations for advancing the sector,” Guiste added.
The Ministry of Agriculture official said a source of funding has been secured to enter into phase two of production of coffee within that sub sector.
When people drink they can say anything.
This talk is code that means ‘ ‘things can happen but we don’t know what to do ‘. He is stating that’s the current status of agriculture in Dominica. Not good, well it couldn’t be worse.
The government is so committed to agriculture, yet I read about all kinds of disbursements for all sorts of projects, but little of it is related to agriculture.
The people is Salisbury have been promised better roads to access their farms but that has yet to come to fruition. Words without action are meaningless.
why do you do this to yourself Mr. Guiste. Alas!
seriously, is that the level of our PS in this country?
Cab sec…..fix this. where are the thinkers and applicationist and strategist for Dominica.? Harold, leave this my friend. retire early. Move out.
and what about the directors level in your ministry? How many Directors do you have? are they performing? what is happening to these institutions? IICA itself know that locally its capacity is dread and dead. Alas…..if only my people would read between the lines and lies you guys are saying?
Agriculture is Dead in Dominica, i repeat Dead!
90c for dasheen doesnt make Sense
A few problems:
Too much toxic chemical use in farming in DA (I am sure that other countries would not like this as well as consumers)
There aren’t that many farmers left on DA. and the younger generations are mesmerized by electronic gadgets and as well there aren’t many future farmers on the horizon in DA. It is a dying profession laiden with hard work (something that most people over there don’t want to do) . and not a lot of profit.
They need to get some ag teachers that emphasize ORGANIC productions rather than chemical farming in the system and they need to start cultivating young farmers in grade school. That hasn’t happened to the extent that it is needed.
There are lots of countries that produce coffee Mr. Guiste. In other words a lot of competition and price wars.
I am glad that he can smile about the condition of agriculture in DA because a lot of us can’t.
Why all dem ministers lying so nah now ? dat fing contagious man .
maybe one or two containers of dasheen to the uk ?
when dat going to start ? how it going to be implemented , through whom ?
i not even going to elaborate on that , but will just say , stop fooling Dom in cans back home .
ki say PS, ki say Minister, ki say DPP, ki say Minister of Finance , ki say PM is a lie lie lie
They all must be eating a lot of garlic wee
bombardment wee Mister say . weh weh weh
I cannot say that what you are saying isn’t true or false but why is it that when farmers are demanding for water facilities and proper roads to help them develop agriculture; the police is sent to keep their mouths shut by using dangerous expired tear gas dressed in army fatigues and guns? Dominica has too much water for a farmer to be in a fight for water and they need good roads to access their land. In the mean time, it is a struggle for people without land to get agricultural products. The products are also too expensive for those who do not have a full-time job. Fix Dominica farmers from first before you talk about exporting food because if this is not done they are working at a loss.
Very true. Not enough decent food on DA and one would think that this place would be plentiful with food.
90c for dasheen doesnt make Sense
How much you want to pay 0.50c? we should be selling it by the pound
this is sounding so nice in comparison to reality.
“…so there is a guy from Germany who is here; he wants to get land for him to produce passion fruits and some African melon…”
It beggars belief!
Are we so destitute of initiative that we need outsiders to come in to teach us how to make Dominica productive? No where in the world is there an island blessed with such an abundance of natural resources.
Give me six good men – or women – and in two years I’ll make Dominica the envy of the region, and not just in terms of agriculture. But don’t saddle me with debts already incurred.
Dasheen seems to be the only agricultural crop grown in Dominica. I would like to know where are the requests made, because i see farmers struggling to sell their produce.
So it is a “Good thing” that foreigners come to D/ca, buy land for cultivation of produce?
Dominicans… thou hath fallen.
Even they have a hard time though with all of the garden theft that goes on.
Haahaa. Too fonny wheres the mooney, wheres the support……………………………….. Abattoir, bridge finished at Glou Show! no access road crap. Chupes. once the best road in Dominica! huge landslide between Sultan and abattoir! Landslide not addressed nor fortified. No road at all Chupes. Really soo fonny! So landslide falls abattoir totally cut off. Haaaaahaaaaaaaa! Chupes. No sense or sensibility! Chupes…………………………….
Bombardment?? Really?? So for what produce (except dasheen) and which are the countries? You said dasheen expansion, so why all the other produce that you say we have markets for.
Talk,talk talk and more talk.So Mr Guiste,what are the reasons why agriculture is in a deplorable state in Dominica and has failed to continue to make a meaningful contribution to the national economy,as it once did not too long ago.During the period when banana was king,it was a European named Geest,who created the horizontal and vertical linkages necessary for that crop to dominate the agricultural sector.Are we looking for the next European and crop to get back to the glory days.You have not spelled out any vision for going forward, except you have embarked on a scatter shot ,pie in the sky dream about so many people who want to come to Dominica to lift the sector up from it’s morass.Banana is a unique crop,which served as a nurse crop for other crops,and it suited both large scale and small scale production in a diversity of locations.There was the credit, transportation, packaging, extension service for it,etc which allowed it to dominate the agricultural sector.Let me hear you
Then Ian Douglas should quit politics and he and the rest of the folks should go develop the Hamstead estate that is lying in waste and make a meaningful contribution to development of those Possi people that keep voting for stagnation for ever. Finally he can create jobs instead of eating tax payers money.
Mr guiste well said my thing is now why arent our government putting more money from the famous budget for more developement in agriculture? On anotger note i dont know if u can answer but where are the vessels for carrying these products sorted by the government as said by prime minister? Am on in this political game just asking questions because i want to know and want developement.
why are you all saying that and them people come here buy the stuff at cents not even dollars and mke profet on our head . go overses and sell big money
some of you ministers go and plant as for me i will over over and study
last year you all said grow plantin now to much plantin hardly you can sell
as fro me i plant for my self and no killing my self
fertilise is so high no one care
Trust me friends, everything this PS says should be taken with a huge piece of rock salt. The man is incompetent like “yow!!”
and got this position over competent people. he is a dull piece of work
why is this clown even speaking
Because he has a govt. job and was appointed by the PM.
Guy, you are just another liar!
Agricultural market from around the World? The markets, and the nations around the world! Another constructed lie, you and Drigo shipped millions of pounds of Dominica fish to every country on earth.
The Dominica fish taste better to the people of the world so much so, they are now asking for Dominica agriculture products to eat with the fish! Stop lying fool!
I am a citizen of the United States; I lived in England, and Germany too. I have never seen Dasheen, Tanya, and such sold in Germany, ripe Bananas are sold in just about any country, and they are not Dominica ripe fig.
In England, Canada, and the United States, the people who buys agricultural products occasional, are West Indians, and Africans, and South Americans, and some Orientals. And mind you some of the products come from as far as the Philippines, and all around South America, and the South Pacific.
You are a liar, don’t be a damn liar, are you people not tired of lying?…
How are you doing, my brother. You always put a smile on my face.
PEACE
Great. outsource to local farmers
what happened to the promise by the Prime minister who is also minister of finance regarding de purchase of refrigerated cargo boats to ship agricultural products.
what i hear from you is alot of prospects sitting in de sky.
You haven’t mentioned 1 plan that your ministry has or is developing to meet the demands of de market.
de PM boasted of bananas for de UK market soon…….i noticed you never mentioned a word about banana export to UK markets.
talk talk talk talk talk and more talk
de gentleman from holland can organize his own products to get to his targeted markets……he didn’t shipping arrangements as i notice……is land he looking for!!!!!
Still waiting on the coffee plant to open so people iin the north will get employment to afford their own toilet
Yeah a patachay talk talk talk and no action!
Been there done that!
Too much praise and self patting on the backs of you government officials. Now put all you money where all you mouth is.