Ministry of Agriculture donates tools and equipment to farmers groups

Farmer receives knapsack sprayer from Director of Agriculture, Ricky Brumant

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has donated over $76,000 worth of tools and equipment to five banana farmer with the aim of further empowering the banana farmers and help in the management of the sector.

The five recipients’ groups were the Eastern, North East, North, South and the Western District Farmers Groups.

The equipment included mist blowers, shovels, knapsacks, brush cutters and wheel barrows.

The presentation was made at Dominica Agricultural Producers and Exporters Limited (DAPEX) building at Fond Cole on April 10th 2019.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Reginald Austrie who spoke at the function, said over 3.8 million dollars have been invested in agriculture on the island.

 “Over the last five years, this government has invested over 3.8 million dollars in this sector. This has been used mainly for the payment for the field monitoring officers. We have been doing a lot of purchase for fertilizers and other inputs, ” the minister stated. “We have recommenced the building of farm sheds and we have also been purchasing tissue culture plants, and that is distributed to the farmers for free and all this is part of the governments investment in the sector and in the industry.”

Reginald Austrie, PS in Agriculture, Dr. Reginald Thomas, Director of Agriculture, Ricky Brumant and Angus McIntyre

He said local farmers contribute greatly to various aspects of the country.

“I want to thank the farmers of Dominica. I believe that the farmers are making tremendous contribution to not only our food security, not only to our health but also to our GDP,” Austrie remarked.

He added, “The ministry of Agriculture, we have to give more support to the farmers through extension services and other services. The state has to recognize the contributions made by those farmers not because of the income generated for themselves but also the impact of their work on the economy and the health of this nation.”

He said the equipment that was contributed will make a big difference in the operations of farmers, homes and families.

Coordinator of the Banana and Planting Management Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Angus McIntyre said the groups were formed from a meeting held late last year.  

“It all started with the minister’s initiative in calling all our core farmers to a meeting in Castle Bruce which was held sometime in November,” he explained. “At that meeting recommendations came up where we were supposed to form the farmers into groups to empower them, to make decisions and to make requests on their behalf; decisions in terms of marketing, labor, production…to help themselves and contribute towards the whole agricultural development,” McIntyre stated

McIntyre added that exercise was undertaken in all the districts and entailed a lot of work.

“We formed all the farmers into groups so currently we have 5 groups formed. They all have their president, vice president, treasures [and] secretaries. The groups have even gone out and they have held meetings,” he reported.

He said some of five groups comprise more than 50 farmers and are all functional. 

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9 Comments

  1. %
    April 13, 2019

    This Ricky Brumant guy is part of the problem which agriculture on island has found itself in .What was his role in Laplaine? Politics or agriculture?? What was his accomplishment in Laplaine? Why is he still talking agriculture, after he helped to kill it?? No wonder one has to be good to know him now!!
    Wicked!!!
    Skerrit Must Go
    Skerrit Must Go
    LAZY Skerrit Must Go Now

  2. Kate
    April 12, 2019

    Brumant did you give any farmer n La Plaine where you reside and who does not wear red any assistance? I know my answer because the La Plaine folks have been talking about you fellar like a you know what. Just a gentle reminder- this belongs to all the people not just some Brumant- in your infinite wisdom.

  3. LANGSAL
    April 12, 2019

    you have to be red to get any assistance.. but i will buy one for cheap from one of those people that will have no use for them. god work mysteriously

  4. Zandoli
    April 12, 2019

    I hope the government officials also teach them about when to spray and when not to spray. The food in Dominica is all contaminated with toxic chemicals. I was looking forward to returning to Dominica, but when I learned about the level of toxicity of the food, that has me thinking seriously about that decision.

  5. Flanders
    April 11, 2019

    EU financing. Doesn’t get a mention (surprise). This isn’t thanks to the government, it’s thanks to European taxpayers.

  6. Itassi Too
    April 11, 2019

    Vielle Case people I know you all will not be able to make out Ricky Brumant, the man with the long sleeve shirt and holding the shovel because he truly looks like an old man in his 90’s but trust me, it is indeed Ricky Brumant, of Vielle case. I calling on his relatives and friends to tell him to live that corrupt carbal and then fly him abroad for help. What I see does not look good

  7. Ibo France
    April 11, 2019

    This is no surprise. Sherrit and his subservient disciples usually play Santa Claus around election time to win votes. For 4 1/2 years prior they play Scourge. With such fertile soil, plenteous rainfall, an abundance of sunshine, agriculture and agro-processing should be the pillars of the economy. Unsurprisingly, with a corrupt and stagnant leader, agricultural production is anemic. By the way, why all those empty chairs? The people have had enough of these election gimmicks.

  8. Frank N Stein
    April 11, 2019

    Where was all this for the past 29 years? You all have no shame.

  9. Neville
    April 11, 2019

    Don’t we have a generous government?! The couldn’t distribute the aid money properly but instead they given a few shovels and knapsacks. The ‘farmer’ that received the money had no use for these thinks because they where only DLP farmers on paper.

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