Over the past years there has been a significant decline in traditional exports to the European Union (EU) while our extra-regional food import bill is estimated at around $3.5 to $4 billion US dollars annually.
That’s according to Acting Prime Minister Ambrose George who was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of the Climate Change and Science and Technology workshop at the Arawak House of Culture on Sunday. It was the first official event to start off the 10th Caribbean Week of Agriculture being held on the island.
He said, essentially, “we are rapidly mortgaging our food sovereignty”.
However, he explained that without the successful implementation and operation of the CSME, “we will be unable to take advantage of economies of scale in the region, let alone to capitalize on the vast market access that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) affords Caribbean exporters. It seems to me that the major actors in implementing the CSME and to some extent the EPA have waxed cold.”
He said the EPA lays out lucidly the competitive forces at play in globally liberalized markets such as those of North America and the EU.
“This by itself is a clear indication of the kind of agriculture that is required as we plan ahead. It also gives us ideas about the rural economies and the vulnerabilities that we face,” George said.
According to him, therefore all these issues, including the millennium goals of 2015 and beyond, that “I have not touched on today, must be kept in full view during this week’s deliberations. And of course, this year’s Caribbean Week of Agriculture will only truly achieve its objectives if it builds on the gains and lessons learned of the past, and chart a course that will lead to building a robust Caribbean-wide Agriculture Sector in the context of changing global market conditions and the global phenomenon of climate change.”
It’s one thing to criticize or identify a problem. what’s more important is to offer solutions. Milk, Pork, Beef, Chicken, Onions, seasoning, coffee, Tea, honey, juice, some medicine etc. should not be imported. Hemp and its thousands of uses (textile, building materials etc.) should be grown and exploited locally and as an export. This will cover the cost of imports such as electronics, fuel, medicine etc. Just my opinion. Hemp is earth’s most beneficial agricultural crop, providing all the basic necessities for human life. I rest my case.
Us exporting to europe are days gone. African and south American imports are cheaper for Europe and we cannot compete with countries working for a dollar a day. What we need to do is use the import money we spend to open some meat raring plants on Dominica. That will create so many jobs for farmers. Also we need to be self sufficient in our own foods like our dasheen and fig and all the others we produce. Once we no longer have to import food, our exports will increase naturally. Even if it is not to the first world but to other Caribbean countries. The only major problem I have is that no government in Dominica has attempted to Market water to countries such ad Saudi Arabia, Libya china and others where oil is cheaper than water or they can invest in Dominica. We have enough water to broker amazing deals. Basically, we need to Market our water worldwide. Water is our future.
Good ideas except for the one on water. Those countries have desalinization plants where necessary.
according to my good friend … weh, weh, weh, weh, weh ….. people just keep praying and more truths will be revealed. after they kill agriculture hear them …. their tongue will get more loose in the coming days
where’s opheila to sing for us “aye dominique”?
I think EPA stands for Economic Partnership Agreement, please verify
Spending $27 million on Food production or a useless state house?
Saying one thing, doing a different thing eh.
THE PERPETUAL EPIDEMIC FACINFG D/CAN POLITICIANS: Verbal Diarrhoea.
Collin; Ambrose and Edison: three (3) trained Agriculturalists and not one of these guys stayed the course of ‘championing the cause of Agriclture’ as per their reign in political office. What a disgrace for sons of the soil in an agrarian society like Dominica.
“Dot-to-come”.
You see why we need to get rid of this good for nothing government. They themselve are admitting the neglect of agriculture.
whatever happen to the coat of arm of Dominica?Apre Bondia cest???–La terre, or chinese? agriculture used to be this contry’s bread winner befor.Now china is our bread winner.I would not be suprise next year november 3rd.we might be clebrating chinese convertion day.just by the way this guy speaking,opps i was only speaking to myself outloud.don’t blast me!
them fellas are the best…..Mr george is using the regional import bill in his address. OMG… dont we have a statistical department in Dominica. why cant these fellas tell us the truth for once… are they ashame of the true figures in Dominica. here it is: we import $576.8 million a yr and export $76 million (ECLAC,2010.)the total expenditure on the importation of chicken stands at $24 million. vegetables import bill stands at $1.6 million a year. check save alot for confirmation and KFC…
believe me or not Mr. george your next ministry before the next eklection will be minister of ration distribution in the constituency affairs….
I thought they told us that a soceity or economy hinged on agriculture is doomed to fail. This administration is the worse thing ever to befall dominica. This dlp government is lost. Everyday is some crap coming from their mouths.what do they have to show after eleven years. Sea walls, a stadium,rehabilitated west coast road and a state mallice. Not forgetting their hefty bank accounts in the cayman islands, villas, expensive homes , various parcels of land,passport sale empire, garbage bin thieves,fertilizer thieves, layou river hotel demise, international criminal enterprise.
i was always surprised about newtown being labour supporters …hmmm…i’ve always wondered…
Well said Ambrose? I sure feel your heart my friend because as a former farmer who was very busy heping to errect green houses all over the island during the reign of UWP, as a former Minister of Agriculture, and as a person who invested in promoting agricure in Dominica, it must be hurting your heart to see how your administration has declared war against the very thing that helped most of us get an education.
Though I understand yor sir, I need to inform you that you are speaking to the wrong group of people. You should look your cabinet members in their eyes and blame them for mortgaging our food production and indeed our country. A good 75% of your supporters were farmers who use to earn a living on agriculture before your party came in power. Since your DLP became the government, your goverment has taken their means of employment from them by killing agriculture and turned them into RED CLINIC PATIENTS who have to depend on the crumbs that fall from their masters table, for servival.
Bye the way my friend, Skerro will be good for you later. Remember you are just the acting PM and Skerro will not like the manner in which you so adequately exposed him and his administration. I’ll be praying for you my friend!
@ littleboy:
I like that perspective although I disagree that the DLP government is solely responsible for the demise of agriculture. President Bill Clinton, “the first black president of the USA”, together with his rich friends from Dole and Chiquita and comlicity of the WTO, killed our banana industry and agriculture in general since we also sold grapefruits and other citrus fruits on the EU market at preferential duty.
Now taxes are levied on everything. Even tourists and airlines are over-taxed to deliberately cripple our tourism; thanks to our “mother country” Great Britain. The government could play a larger role to accelerate agro-industries so we can sell finished products instead of raw materials.
Genetically engineered food also pushes out developing countries from the market.While our farmers grow one bull in 3 years, the US puts thousands on the market within a year. Chikens are ready within 6 to 12 weeks. In DA we take 1 year. Agriculture is machanized but in DA we use cutlass, fork and hoe. Furthermore, everything tropical now grows in the USA and EU. Not only that; they do not need the actual fruit to have its flavour mass produced. Vitamin supplements are now artificially produced. No wonder diseases are so widespread.
Finally, many of our hucksters sold all the plants to Guadeloupe and Martinique so they no longer have to buy anthurium flowers, nutmegs, cinnamon, limes, oranges, grapefruits and mangoes. They made some small change selling a few plants but they undermined an entire industry; thus, their livelihood.
PM Skerrit still needs Ambrose. Grand Fond, Carib Reserve, Laplaine and Wesley were too close for comfort. Even Castle Bruce and Roseau Valley can shift if DLP does not put people to work. The projects are great but they must yield JOBS FOR LOCALS. Next time I will dwell on land reform. Since the strides made by PM OJ and Mike Douglas, the process has been stiffled. With advisors like Nassief,Parry Bellot, charles Maynard and the former Freedom Party stalwarts, what do you expect?
Corrections:
“complicity” of WTO & agriculture is “mechanized”.
You are right on point. We should ask Mr. Ivor Nassief to apologize to the Dominican people for saying at a National symposium on Investing in Agriculture, that if he had one dollar in his pocket, he would invest it in Tourism and not Agriculture. Shame.
These guys only look out for themselves and their families and not the masses. The Government knows that Agriculture should take precedence over all other sectors as it deals with food security,JOBS, JOBS, JOBS and economic stability across the country and brings in foreign exchange over the long term as compared to the tourist industry.
Let us analyze the Banana Industry at its peak and compare its development to that of the tourism sector at its peak …see when Dominicans were happier, full of zeal to work the soil here in the Nature Island. I am not against any form of tourism (educational, cruise, or eco), but can you imagine what would happen if one disgruntle student at Ross do to Dominica if he fails his exams and cause a form of terrorism at the school.
Why Ian cant concentrate on getting 3-4 more universities to come down and make possie the university village and increase the earnings from educational tourism.
We still can rectify these mess and bring back multiple levels of jobs in the Agriculture sector. If none of these ministers ashamed or don’t have a clue as to how to effectively revive a dying industry, give me the chance to do it. I will first abolish the entire Ministry of Agriculture, get ride of all square pegs in round holes (like the present PS and Minister) and get N.I.F(Nature Island Farms) moving.
All we need is to get three conscious investors or donors to support Marketing, Productions and Agri – business. Now is the time to put in some hard $$$ into the industry and concentrate on a few niche market crops for export and processing, while engaging in complete food security in every quarter on the Island.
Our farming community is getting old and there is no plan in place to get the yuts to work the soil as they follow what our ministers do. We need urgent attention to directly occupy this void to increase production.
Work has been done, but more needs to be done in the Agri business sector as Manufacturing is on the decline. We cannot wait till election to do something as our people are suffering Mr. George.
We also need to stop importing all these dangerous chemicals like paraquat that are killing our experienced farmers just to make a dollar. Please save Agriculture Mr. PM. I believe in you Sir.
I LOVE YOU DOMINICA
Well South Man I agree with your post except the last paragraph because I do not know follow Dominica Politic that close. Since Mr Clinton became president and he made that deal with Dole and Chiquita Bananas. He destroyed my family in Laplaine and Bense because they just could not export any fruits or provisions. It’s very painful to come to Dominica and see all this fresh water just wasting. Why can’t the Government build some dams to produce electricity and export water to the Virgin Islands.
mr george is the ‘acting prime minister’ lol…. so if skerro go out… mr george will be holding fort hhmmm… say sah… but dominican gov’t has put agriculture on the back burner… this should be our primary concern… just imagine the impact that can happen if we invest some millions into that sector….
YEPP!! The Tower of Babel start to materialize!! Say it Ambrose, speak the truth, who else from that regime will come out and dare to speak the truth. We welcome you with opened arms!!! The truth shall set you free!! Keep on praying patriots!!
We have also mortgaged our country!!
Interesting coming from an adminidtration that openly declared that agriculture is not important and tourism is the way to go. These guys are such idiots
You need to have a discussion with your Agriculture Minister. Ambrose George speaks like he is a primary school student at some type of debate competition. You’re talking to Dominicans the way you’re suppose to be speaking to your cabinet colleagues.
You and your cabinet have the power to turn things around. Instead of concentrating on a state palace that up to this day you all are unable to effectively articulate its usefulness to Dominicans, put some serious money into agriculture, get the farmers back to work!
This will be an effective way to tackle food security issues, if we produce our own, we reduce all these headaches that comes with importing ground beef from God knows where!
LOLOLoolololol allu better start addressing the real concerns lest we see through the window shades at night…..
ohh mee ohh myy what a comedy central…….
WE MORTGAGING OUF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
WE ALSO MORTGAGED OUR HOUSING INDEPENDENCE
TELL ME ABOUT THE HOUSING REVOLUTION IN NEWTOWN
TELL ME ABOUT THE SMALL FARMERS OF GIRAUDEL EGGLESTON
TELL ME ABOUT THE NEWTOWN FISHING COOPERATIVE THAT ONLY SELLS ICE
YOURE VERY RIGHT ABOUT THAT MORTGAGING OUR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN DOMINICA
NEWTOWN USED TO BE THE FISH CAPITAL OF THE WEST COAST AND NOW ITS A DYING COMMUNITY UNDER YOUR WATCH BUT WHEN YOU GO BY THE NEWTOWN BAYSIDE WHAT YOU SEE IS BOATS BAOTS BOATS BUT NEWTOWN PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO GET FISH YOU DAMN WELL SHOULD KNOW WHAT THOSE BOATS FISHING . I WANDER WHO IN THE COOPERATIVE LICENSING THEM !
ALL WHAT DAT HAPPENING IS SOME PEOPLE STILL larvaying money and bobolling their own supporters! NO FREAKING NAME NO WARRANT. HOUSING REVOLUTION $ 590,000 EC allu might have fooled AUSTRIE BUT NOT NEWTOWN/KINGSHIL,FORTUNE,CITRONIER ETC.
GARCSON JUST RESIGN WE REALLY FED UP WITH YOU FOR YOU HAVE FAILED US IN SO MANY WAYS.
TRUST ME IF U GOING UP AND I REALLY DOUBT DAT BUT IF BY A MIRACLE YOU GOING UP I WILL NOT VOTE FOR YOU I VOTING ANYBODY ELSE NOT YOU.
PUT OUR NEWTOWN YOUTHS BACK INTO FISHING AND OUR KI-BELLE YOUNG PEOPLE AND GIRUADEL ONES ALSO BACK INTO FARMING AND WE WIL HAVE FOOD SECURITY——-IF YOU REALLY TRIANED IN AGRICULTURE WHY DONT YOU TAKE UP THAT MINISTRY OH AGRI IS TOO LOW FOR SOME PEOPLE CHUPES.