Agriculture Minister, Johnson Drigo, has stated that the government is looking at “another initiative” where agricultural products from Dominica are sold at supermarkets in Martinique.
Speaking at a town hall meeting recently, Drigo said that the government has been working with the “top supermarkets” in the neighbouring French island and they have made requests for produce from Dominica.
He noted that DEXIA will be in charge of the initiative and local farmers will again have to enter into a contract to supply this demand.
“We will be asking you, farmers, to go into a contract again to produce for the Martinique markets and I am very happy that the government was able to make over half a million dollars available for on-lending to our boat owners so that they could retrofit their boats to make the boats ready for entering into the Martinique ports, which is the European ports,” he said.
Drigo added that this is preparation is necessary so as to meet the criteria required.
He stressed that there is a need to get the products out there.
“The market is demanding Dominica’s agricultural produce, but we must meet the standard for getting this produce to the market,” he remarked.
There has been some controversy recently after the United Workers Party (UWP) made some shipments of agricultural produce to the market in Martinique, claiming they were keeping their promise to revitalize the agricultural sector in Dominica.
Housing and Water Resources Management Minister, Reginald Austrie, criticized the initiative saying “there has always been a market” in Martinique.
“The point is there has always been a market, so Thomson Fontaine now cannot take any credit for selling, huckstering agricultural produce to Martinique,” he said.
All the Labourites – Please bow your eyes and close your head. Oh Heavenly Father – please deliver Labourites from the spirit of stupidity and wickedness
Why don’t we export fish to Martinique? It’s much closer than the USA.
Driving are you telling us that it’s only in Martinique that agricultural products from Dominica can be sold. Thompson Fountain and the UWP and hucksters are already serving that market,why then must the government use BN it’s agency,DEXIA,to compete with the effort,rather than assist those who are in the market.There is only one Dominica and this myopic mindset and lack of foresight won’t get us far.Do we have a minister of trade and what is he’s efforts in boosting trade in agricultural products.
Am sorry Jonathan, Thompson hand already to deep in that product money already . Look now he cannot pay us and is not passing back.
I want my Money NOW!!!
If you are speaking the truth; in order to be credible, and believable print your name, and surname so that you can be identified. I think you are a disgusting liar, trying to create a situation that you all can commence calling Thomson a thief!
If you had any intelligence, and not a low down dirty idiot, you would realize that at this time no opposition member would be that stupid to steal a few pence only to looses their reputation, and destroy their character. Your written comments prove you are a fool, lying threw your tooth!
wicked set of people, to start a lie like this…. my father is one of the farmers working with thompson and thats a dam lie!!!!!!!
Worry about Skerrit and his ministers and the millions they have amassed whilst we the poor DA people there struggling.
Classic case of: “monkey see, monkey do”. For years this worthless regime spared no efforts to destroy the agricultural industry of Dominica.
– They chant evil mantras such as “agriculture is a HAS_BEEN industry”
– boasted how agriculture have been on the BACK_BURNER.
– They stood IDLY by and allowed the Black Sigatoka disease to DEVASTATE the banana industry.
– They allowed the major agricultural belts like Marigot and Salisbury to go without feeder roads.
– Undermine and destroyed Dabex
– Promised phantom cargo boats that never materialized.
-Promised a bogus Barbados market that is yet to be seen.
Now Thomson shows how simple it is to get Markets in Martinique, they want to jump on the bandwagon in an effort to SABOTAGE Thomson’s hard work. Why doesn’t Mr. Drigo tackle the Barbados market? People are always saying the opposition must get projects and help the government do their work. But every time opposition members do something commendable, the…
But every time opposition members do something commendable, the govt BLOCKS it. Magway sa!
Boug, Is there any thing Commendable in taking peoples produce and not paying them for it?
wow- Luky Jono in it too!!! why not !!!
ok drigo ,Too little ,too late Skeritt make all of his ministers turned , I do not want to say , FOOLS
Poor Drigo feeling sorry for you. What they tell to say you are repeating. So all the time before Fontain you all were not aware of the market in Martinique ? What calamity. I said that ” you all will try to take the market from Fontain, ” one thing Dominicans are no longer foolish.
Why you all do not try to get get another market else where for us to prove your power, I am putting you to the test. Get another market in a different country. UWP have you all by the ….
Dexia was there all the time, while farmers crops were being spoilt in their fields. Hats up to Fontain and UWP.
when will u that yes, yes, yes minister stop taking garbage. You nor your government cant do better. The boat was to big up till now the smaller one cant be found and u and austrie talking nonsense let DR Fontaine do the right thing in opposition and that shows u what will be done when he enters government. Go asked Dr Fontaine how it should be done or else support the move which is a good one.
John Dont Know again…Oh my!!
T he fish that was exported to Martinique swam to that French Island via the D.A. Martinique channel with a Dominica tag on it’s fine saying imported from D.A. curtesy of Mr. Drigo .[ that’s why we are label over seas as DOM-INICANS.
Some if us are wondering whether these guys think before they speak or listen to themselves. Clearly the priblem is not in Reginald Austrie or Drigo cause if Reginald et ak know thst the people digest the crap they feed then there is no need to think of what they are saying or to listen yo themselves. Politicia jb s are as smart as the people they con
Martinique is 2 hrs by boat from Dominica. Now in 2017 the DLP is looking for Market to sell Dominica produce. Boy I am not even shocked any more at this government Lazy, incompetent lacking vision . Just go already vacate the premises sacway enfant gas. Toneh
Where is the boat DLP has been promising every election? This is DLP last days you all fool me enough .
I often wonder who these guys especially that Drigo think they are tLking to
Do they think all Dominicans are Dummies?
Thompson Fountaine already have Martinique , can DLP please et another country to sell their stuff? This is so lame on their part.
Why, let them work together for once. Roosevelt Skerrit always says we should unite, not so?
Go ahead Drigo sell your soul, and sell Dominica to the highest bidder every politicians are doing it welcome to the club, fill your pocket l no conscience the Lord will punish all of you , and by the way don’t forget to go to church this Sunday I will see you on your way to hell [ I will drop you a bag of ice courtesy of sukie . don’t forget our national dish is no long the frog , soon you will be selling the siesaru parrots to ?.
Is there gonna be check and balance of those products? like exporting all of our crabs, sewicks crabs depleting our resource to those other Island who has depleted there own crabs and other stuff , we are selling our soul now, soon we wont have nothing for our self , so go on people sell your soul, , you don’t miss the water till the well runs dry.
I have checked my area over and over again and I cannot find 1 pound of Red Fish that was exported from Dominica to buy. Tell me who the wholesaler and distributor is so I can get fresh fish to buy.
lame duck please shut up
Garcon you come back again with the same foolish talk. Every few weeks it seems, Skerrit release you from bondage and you start with your foolishness. Now and only now you considering initiatives to export produce to Martinique.
While you at it, I would like a report on our fish exports to overseas countries for 2017. Last year you said that, we exported 1 million pounds of fish. If export totals remain unchanged, we should have exported approximately 24,999 pounds of fish for the first 3 months in 2017. Then again, I will await your report of export totals at the end of the year.
Make that 249,999 pounds. The figures matter not, because you are a bold face liar.
Drigo, why don’t you work with Dr. Fontaine? Our farmers are not selling politics, they want to sell their produce for dry cash. Doesn’t matter what color they vote. Please, take your P.M. by his words and unite with those that are already in that business. I don’t really see a place for Dexia in that. That only adds costs and delays and bureaucracy. Dexia can only bring us poor quality sugar and lousy flour. Importers and wholesalers can do that job better and have real competition. They have these centralized services in communist countries and it does not work there either.
@megso:
Not only that. If there was always a market there why hasn’t it been tapped before?
According to my dearly departed Mom (RIP) “Mais oui, Mary”
I think this government is like a rudderless ship. sailing but with no direction, just sailing here, there and everywhere.
drigo like a big over grown fowl
BUT JUST NOW….. so allu knew of these markets and 15 years Skerrit and allu dotish minister running things in a country and now allu TRYING to use these markets, keep crying “market always there”
…. this is an embarrassment to allu eh… market always there and it take 15 years to start working on making these markets a lucrative source to the struggling farmers in DA…. ALL MOFOs TO WICKED BOY…15 years to help the poor farmers YET THE MARKET ALWAYS DERE!
Drigo, shut up, and stop talking nonsense making a ram goat out of yourself. Let me teach you something about the word or term “initiative” defined as introduction to something. That definition is the simplest term in which it is defined.
In other terms it means something such as a procedure enabling a specific number of something, or even one’s own discretion. You and your regime is not initiating anything, because Dominicans has been taking agricultural produce to Martinique and Guadeloupe long before you and Skerrit was born.
That been going long before I was even born, although I am almost a hundred years old! You are ashamed of what Thomson and the UWP are able to accomplish, hence you are trying to discredit him. You of all persons with no credibility.
You are a notorious liar who claim you shipped a million (1,000,000) pounds of fish to America, Canada, England Antigua, St. Kitts, and St. Martin!
However, no one in Dominica knows about your shipments of fish, and…
Private people wi, that took it upon themselves to do their private shipment to make their little money. but he want to act like is his ministry, Ministry of agriculture and fisheries that doing big things.
In any event Madam/Sir; if your comment is in regards to shipping fish to Canada America England, and else where, even if you believe that private people are doing their thing, unless they are rapping a piece of fish to take to a short distance in the Caribbean,lasting a few minuets in flight everything you hard about that is a confounded lie!
Take it from someone who knows there are three specific ways fish can be prepared to ship to all the places that liar claimed, and that can only be accomplished by processing it dried, including smoked like the smoked and salted codfish imported into Dominica from Canada.
Secondly, it can be shipped in barrels in salted pickle, and third, it can be in a ship, aboard an aircraft, or ship, (boat) and the Aircraft, or ship must be equip with a refrigerated system!. Do you have a place in Dominica where Drigo can process a million pounds of fish and ship out of Dominica and no one knows about it? The labor party did not have a fanfare on…
Continue:
The labor party did not have a fanfare on the day they were shipping?
How come everyday they are on DNO, even Drigo recently talking about how they declare war on human feces in pit-holes no more squatting over and defecating, but pertaining to shipping fish, only he is lying about that crap!
Dominica is approximately three hundred five square miles, or about 289.9 square miles, don’t you think everybody in Dominica would know that Drigo did what he said he did?
Let me tell you something, I’ve lived in Cuxhaven Haven West Germany, near to Seaaddler, a place where there are miles of fish processing plant’s I’ve seen how dried fish are process as well as the fresh ones taken across Europe for sale in Supermarkets okay, and I can tell you there is no truth to anybody from Dominica sending fish to England, and wherever they get to the destination, if they are not shipped the way I suggest, all would decay before it gets into the markets. If you try to send…
Finally:
If you try to send one pound of fish from Dominica to England, without refrigerating it, by the time it gets there it would not be fit for a dog to eat.
Drigo is hallucinating, the man is a compulsive pathetic liar!
Keep in mind there are no direct flights from Dominica to any part of the world, okay, so pick sense, out of nonsense!
@Francisco,he told the fish,where he wanted them to go,and the fish went,Lol
Oh, yes, ah feel you!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha!
I wonder why I could not have thought of it that way!
But seriously that guy believe people are stupid, I body in Castle Bruce believes that guy! If something like that happened; why not present the fishermen who caught the fish on Television, or print their faces on DNO so that people can confirm is told the truth.
I challenged that sucker to disclose which shipping company ships he used to transport the fish, no one in his party, or him has responded. He cannot say he ship them by air, because LIAT do not fly out of the Caribbean, and they are not equip with cold storage facilities.
Finally, I challenged that liar to tell us the name of one market in Canada, or the U. S, so that I can go and buy our fish, de man silent, Antigua and St. Kitts catch more fish in a day than is caught in Dominica waters in a year!
I know of one individual who ships regularly to st. kitts, antigua and st maarten on boats. the fish and crustaceans are stored in massive air tight coolers filled with ice. It takes them 2 days maybe less to deliver. to my knowledge, his clients are top hotels and restaurants in these territories and his fish is in constant demand. So… i dont know what you know, or think you know, but i know what i know.
“The point is there has always been a market, so Thomson Fontaine now cannot take any credit for selling, huckstering agricultural produce to Martinique,” he said.They never said they created the market. They want to revitalize re-energize it. Little girls fighting for bragging rights. Grow some balls and forget the praise. Just move on to the next important thing. Those who benefited will sing your praise for you.
Laughable. I tell you this man is truely a joke. they gave thompson and the rest such a hard time for the little produce they manage to get into Martinique. Now, they want to follow suit. I mean at the end of the day people, YOU ARE WORKING FOR DOMINICA AND DOMINICANS (RED BLUE GREEN YELLOW). These people like the attention and the fame. Who did this and who did that, do they can come and ask for votes. Plitics is really politricks.
what a pack of fools! you now going to “CONSIDER INITIATIVES” really Drigo? Meanwhile Thompson will be shipping and supplying to the Martinique market. Can you feel , see and experience the difference?
boy mister doh tired lie who does tell him to say them things there na where the fish they sending to the usa where the labatoir where the all them things garcon stop that
Lol. Donkey Derby. Jack and his ass in competition. DNO ass is in the Bible and I ain’t put nobody initials, but just like Roseau market exist since kingdom come and is being now ran by the Hatian government out of the Hatian embassy in castle Bruce and Portsmouth so to does Martinique have a market. Alas the market has been there since before mt. Pele erupted burying the town of St. Pierre.
Let us know when the donkey Derby over and if Jack ass win.
I thank u.
Yes do that, and while you at it liaise with Thomson Fontaine!!
So if there was always a market there, why are they making such a big deal of this initiative?
We have too many missed opportunities and that just seems to be fine with everyone. It is not enough to know it’s there; we should all work hard to get our products there and seek additional markets