Minister for Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Walter believes that agriculture remains a vital part of the Dominican economy.
“Agriculture deals with food and anytime you remove that sector from any country, it is doomed. People must eat and people must work, and in order for them to work, they must eat. An empty bag cannot stand,” he said in a recent interview.
“It is imperative and pertinent for any government to concentrate on their agricultural sector. It provides employment for the rural folks; it can be used tremendously to reduce the import bill in this country. We import a large percentage of meat and process foods but we have the potential to provide the same products…” he explained.
Walter has indicated that he will retire from politics after completing this term. However, he has promised to continue the work that he started and implement the projects that are relevant to the development of the agricultural sector.
“I see prospects within the ministry of agriculture that it can be used as a vehicle that it can create the type of employment in rural areas such as agri-tourism” he said.
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What plans do you have in place to provide assistance and support to our farmers? Remember agriculture cannot remain a vital part of the Dominican economy without them.
To quote the minister of Agriculture. “It is imperative and pertinent for any Government to concentrate on their agricultural sector it provides Employment for rural folks.” Well minister here is my solution to this simple economic problem, it may be unorthodox but very effective.
The government of Dominica should use the development loans it receives from the EU, the World Bank, the loans from China, Venezuela etc, and construct two or three small industrial parks in say the Canefield area, one in the Portsmouth area, and possibly one somewhere on the Eastcoast. These industrial parks should be publicly owned, ie Government enterprises. Rural farmers, (whats left of them) can then sell their produce directly to the government who in turn sell the finished product around the region and possibly on the world market. The minister should start acting on his words and start getting a move on pronto.
The people who are in power right now should start to walk the walk instead of just talk the talk, private enterprise alone cannot provide the jobs that are needed for the young people who are currently out of work on the island. It is much easier for Governments to raise money by what ever means to finance its spending than it is for individuals entrepreneurs to startup new businesses to generate new jobs.
Dominica’s Government should not just rely on attracting tourist dollars to the island to create jobs it should be getting its hands dirty by creating ENTERPRISES of it own to empower the people and give them a stake in their own destiny. For a tiny economy Dominica has great potential, all it takes is a little bit of political will. I just hope the minister take my simple economic views onboard….
I also think the Diaspora can play a huge role in developing the country but the government has to act as a catayst. I think alot of people would return if they see potential, their skills would be put to good use. I think it’s their patriotic obligation, what say you Diaspora?
IMHO, Dominica has been stalled since independence and I blame it on all past and present governments, we have 3 decades to catch-up so it’s either gonna have to be rapid development or we’ll stay in spinning mode trying to catch our tails.
There will be no progress if we don’t understand that the government is our enterprise, it’s our tax money that pay them, we elect them so they work for us and we have to demand more from them.
I say it’s time to get our tails out from between our legs, it’s been too long.
Agriculture is our main income in Dominica.That’s our livelihood. I believe its time that we need an overhaul in this sector.
When those guys are outside, they see all sorts of things to be done. But when they are in side is, sa’ po’ fe’.
Boost up the fishing industry, more chichen, more eggs, vegi estates,………..
Find some Market for the dasheen, tania, plantain , Passionfruit,……
WalMart and HEB.. Big supermarkets in the USA , are buying plantain, bananas, tania,dasheen, potato, pear, cane, cassava(for cooking) limes, and much more. Where you think they are coming from? Mexico, Guatemala, and some other countries in central America. And if you see those produce, cann’t be compared to ours we grow!
Try sometin. Nothing beats a trial but a failure. Make our name on the Market.
I seem to recall that during Dr.MacIntyre’s term as Minister of Agriculture, he announced the development of an agricultural strategy for DA. The strategy was intended to identify the key opportunities for agricultural development and then proceed with those areas af highest priority. I am not aware of any activity re such a strategy.. Was there any?
Minister Walter’s intention to “implement the projects that are relevant to the development of the agricultural sector” is encouraging. At the very least we should expect those projects to be strategic in nature with the support of the farming and agri-business communities.
He and his ministry will be judged by how well his words are converted into effective action and results.
Under the leadership of this present agriculture minister there is no high expectation for this sector. The guy has no vision of his own, he repeats the same thing at every given opportunity, he is empty on ideas and I honestly think he should not lead the most important ministry of the land. He lacks qualification and aptitude. it is basically a repayment for winning a constituency that he has been given a ministerial position. It must a shame, embarassment and frustration for the technocrats and specialists of this ministry to work with such a leader.
This is not political but a solid labour supporter who wants much better than this lazy minister for such an important job.
Walter should not wait until 2015 to bow out of politics, because by then we will be importing bananas,dasheen,yams,carrot,jelly nuts,mangoes,oranges etc from other countries.Agriculture in a total mess,and this govt, is incapable of addressing it.
INCOMPETENCY SYNDROME!!!!!
In 2005, people were calling a particular radio show emphasizing that Dominica needs to improve its Agricultural Sector. There are more food imports than exports in Dominica which is a shame because there is plenty land in Dominica to farm. If we were not only focused on growing BANANAS, then maybe the Agricultural Sector would not be failing. “Never put all your eggs in one basket”, and that’s exactly what Dominica has been doing for many years. No wonder the “Banana Industry” has failed. There are many more fruits and vegetables other than bananas so the Minister of Agriculture should explore other options. Also instead of importing chicken into Dominica, the government should construct a chicken farm so that Dominicans can eat local raised chicken rather than eating chicken from the United States that is injected with hormones.
Are these people delusional…so many farmers have abandoned their farms….I remember about 3 years ago when a saw one who I would normally see in the market fully clothed in his security uniform and I’m sure there are many like him who have abandon their farms. Truth is, agriculture is not what it use to be thus these people have to find other means of sustaining themselves. Most recently I have a relative who have been doing farming all his life and is now a bus driver, realising that he can no longer survive on agriculture.
I agree with the individual who talked about agro-processing… that’s the direction we should take, I mean we have so much fruit but still the majority of it gets wasted because we don’t have the necessary facilities to make proper use of it. There is bello factory which make some use but after years of service, I don’t see any progress in this company, common!
Mr. should resign. A complete wast of tax payers money. If Agriculture was on the rise or developing, why is it farmers leaving there fields and the yuts NOT interested?
Words, word, and more words as agriculture continues to go down, down, down. It’s more of the same, a lack of vision and fresh ideas. I would be pleasantly surprised if things change for the better in the agricultural sector. Please let us see something being done in agro-processing instead of letting our fresh fruits go to waste as we import more and more processed juices from overseas. Boost up the capacity in Ministry of Agriculture to the level of our Caribbean neighbours for a start, and make Dominicans excited about agriculture thereby breaking the culture of dependence.