Plans underway to establish coffee processing plant in Dominica

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The government of Dominica is expected to host a team from a Venezuelan coffee company next week Tuesday to finalize plans for the operations of a coffee processing plant on the island.

Agriculture Minister Mathew Walter made the revelations today in a statement issued to the media.

Walter recently led a team to the Second Ministerial Council of ALBA Food Initiative held in Caracas.

The purpose of the meeting, which took place from January 27-28, was to continue discussion for the establishment of a grand food enterprise.

A draft document was prepared and will be submitted to the Attorney General of the respected countries for review.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Samuel Carrette and the Head of the Agricultural Investment Unit John Toussaint accompanied the minister.

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9 Comments

  1. February 7, 2010

    HERE GOES THE NAY SAYERS AGAIN. I GUESS THEY REALIZE THIS IS WORK.
    AS SOME OF US WELL KNOW THAT IS THE LAST THING ON THEIR AGENDA.
    THEY WOULD MUCH PREFER TO BEG , STEAL OR BORROW. INSTEAD OF GAINING SOME MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT.

  2. Farmer Brown
    February 4, 2010

    Mike

    Altitude is just one aspect. We got the best soils in the Caribbean and growing coffee needs both internal and superficial drainage as well and fertile soils. Coffee grown in Syndicate is of superior quality.We have the test to prove this claim. I agree with you, this will help DA as we already importing over USD $5 million annually of the finish product.

    We have many other crops that we can also process, but lets see when these products that we produce are on the shelves in the supermarket next to the foreign ones, lets see Mike be the first one to buy local, which by the way is of better quality.

    We would only have to buy the raw material from venezuela if our farmers are not interested in planting the crop, which we have already mastered. It all depends on us Dominicans.

    Machel, This is a chance to own our brand name products and have them on the niche Market around the world. I have to also agree that pesticides will be needed for the cultivation but we can also use IPM systems to solve many issues with pest and diseases.

    This will allow us to be sustainable and decrease the start up cost. Please remember ,For the cultivation of coffee shade is needed ( all varieties). The Ministry of Agriculture have carried out the much needed research, and coffee can always be Monoculture when in maturity, but for growth and development of the plant, it will always need shade.

    Correct, we do need sustainable forms of Agriculture that will provide protection for our natural ecosystem, and not destroy our land and people as we did with the Banana Industry. Banana was the mainstay of our economy and helped improved the lives of our people, but we are now paying a huge price for the continuous use and overuse of harmful chemicals such as Gramaxzone into our water catchment areas, rives and sea. It has cause leukemia to decrease the number of our farmers. We will take your recomendation and look at other Caribbean coffee industries ( not only Jamaica), and learn from their mistakes. I approve this initiative.

  3. mike
    February 4, 2010

    dominica does not have the high altitude cultivation land to grow world class coffee the plant going to end up the way lime went in dominica why cant dominicans accept somethgin that will help the country we have so much fruit and banana process that why is coffee that dominica do have much of u all want to put processing plant on AND BY THE WAY LOOK AT VENEZUELA …SO IF VENEZUELA GIVES DOMINICA A COFFEE PLANT DOMINICA IS OBLIGED TO PROCESS VENEZUELAN COFFEE THEREFORE THE COFFEE PACKAGE SAYS PROCESSED IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA AND BAM VENEZUELA HAS A WORLD MARKET FOR ITS COFEE ONCE MORE

  4. Machel
    February 4, 2010

    Dominica needs to be careful with the cultivation of coffee, in the sense it has has high demands for synthetic pesticides. We need to approach sustainable coffee farms so their is need to carry out investigations in the type of coffee we are going cultivate is it shade coffee or the monoculture style of cultivation. Dominica is considered to as the Nature Island so therefore we need to focus sustainable forms of Agriculture that will provide protection for our natural ecosystems. Jamaica has been cultivating Coffee for many years so it will be interesting to observe their Coffee Industry short commings and the problems they face so we can learn form their mistakes.

  5. The Unbiased one
    February 4, 2010

    @ James

    NOUN:
    1.Material, usually of plant or animal origin, that contains or consists of essential body nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life.

    2.A specified kind of nourishment: breakfast food; plant food.

    3.Nourishment eaten in solid form: food and drink.

    I assume you didn’t do biology in school so i decided to help you out

  6. A true dominica in the u.s.a
    February 4, 2010

    As the scriptures declared, the last shall be first and the first shall be last. by that I mean that DA is rising slowly and will one day become a greater gem in the C aribbean. I remember when I was growing that my grandmother grew coffee and she would go through the procees of the finished product. Everyone had a part to play before that coffe coud be consumed. She also sold other produce that she grew such as coconuts, bananas screwpine, and many more. We had a lot of land and my mother culvitated the land and sold her produce on the market. Now, in those days when modern tools were not used, they accomplished a lot. Having a Coffee Processing Plant in DA is a very good idea because that would create employment on the island and we would be further recognised by the outside world. Jamaica can do it so why not Dominica?

  7. February 4, 2010

    It will be quite good for Dominica to have a coffee plant inside. It will help their economy to gain from it and have their own product.

  8. james
    February 3, 2010

    since when coffee is food lol

  9. February 3, 2010

    HHAHAHAH…HMMM. Let me clear my garden….cut down my bananas and make way for my cocoa and coffee plants…$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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