Agriculture Minister and Chairman of the OECS Council of Ministers, Fidel Grant, has said that there must be a proactive approach to the mission for food security, reducing the food import bill and building a sustainable resilient agricultural sector.
He was delivering remarks at the Agriculture Ministers meeting held recently at the State House Conference Center.
The meeting seeks to clarify the objectives of each OECS member state government as well as how the OECS as a body may support the various countries within the organization.
“We must be proactive in the mission for food security, reducing our food import bill and building a sustainable resilient agricultural sector,” Grant said. “We must support farming households with inputs, [and] tools to cultivate short-cycle crop varieties.”
According to him, agriculture is critical for creating and maintaining sustainable jobs.
‘For too long, however, we viewed agriculture as the thing that people who do not have professional careers–or persons who are uneducated,” he remarked.
Furthermore, Grant argued that in Dominica “we are fighting this stigma and we are urging our stakeholders, especially our farmers and fishermen to treat their trade as a business.”
“We must as a government and as a region continue to offer concessions and fiscal incentives to stakeholders within the industry,” Grant stated. “Whether it is for vehicles, solar systems, machinery, feed, fertilizer, and other support, concessions are mechanisms for strengthening the sector.”
He believes it is imperative that financial institutions must be pushed to offer improved access and available funding to stakeholders in the agriculture sector.
“In order to compete with some of our large CARICOM sisters we must provide and improve on our financial products,” he said. “To do so our farmers must have the means to invest, our farmers must have the means to purchase machinery which are necessary to reduce the cost of labour and become more efficient.”
Clown, it is one thing to run your mouth off about diversify, or ” simply say enlarge or vary the range of products; however, it is not as simply as wishful thinking, because it is not as easy as using the term loosely.
When one think in terms of diversification, in a place as Dominica, which all we ever had to export are Bananas, and at one time a variety of spices and citrus which dates back to the forties, until Bananas in the 1950’s; one need to diverse into something that is sort after, there must be a market for anything new one produces.
So, suggest something that we can divert into?
Clown agriculture should not be the only lifesaver in a country: in Dominica people are better educated than hundred years ago.
However, whereas everyone sorts some some sort of degree, the crave the to be called doctor or some crap, none of these people with supposed scientific degrees enters the field of research (R&D) and development of anything!
Con:
Con:
Everyone who went to college, or attend a university, returns to Dominica, and enters politics, they all are going to do something for for Dominica; before they can do for themselves; nevertheless, in recent years all have become lap-dogs to one man a corrupted crook Roosevelt Skerrit!
They all want to work in the civil service, or become a minister of government; how can such bring employment and prosperity to the country? I am professionally an electronic/electrical engineer, if I was interested I could have returned home and invest in to an electronic engineering business, be it in the manufacturing of Televisions, Computers home entertainment products as Amplifiers, Radios, ect. That’s my niche; I could create employment for hundreds of people, and that is what scientific education is all about.
My friend Ron Abraham trained in the field of Electronics, returned to Dominica set up Marpin Television, how many jobs did he create?
For his effort they stole Marpin TV from…
I am an electronic/electrical engineer and could create hundreds of jobs (Francisco) in Dominica so my question to you is, what the hell are you doing in Los Angeles? Talk is cheap so lets see some action. You can be a real patriot by helping out in the supposedly desperate situation back home IF you really can.
Stop waiting on government to do everything. Governments do not create jobs so start the ball roling.
And stop all this copy and pasting. We are all capable of looking up things for ourselves. It’s beginning to get pretty boring.
Mark, there are many of us who would like to return and invest in business we know would be successful, nevertheless, Dominica is not aplace that is encouraging, well, not the land; however the bad politics.
You read where I mentioned Ron Abraham, you saw them stole Marpin Television from him. That was his dream; I had a conversation with Ron in England in 1976, I told him I was returning home to set up a Radio & Television complex, he advised me to set up a Cable Station; I argued that Dominicans would not have the money for paid TV. Ron said if I was you that’s what I’d do eventually he did it, but look what happen to him.
Dominicans take pleasure in destroying peoples business; even Charles Savarin encourage labor supporters to Boycott Brisbane, put them out of business.
Now I had a successful Electronic business in Antigua, and was involve in a shipping with former wife family, we had a cargo ship, I closed my electronic business when I decided to come here to educate my…
Let me tell you something, there are many of us who intended toreturn and do what we could, in creating employment, but the powers that be believe because they are ministers of government, we must stupe at their feet to even get a liciens to operate in the country.
On lady went home and decided toset up a pig farm, they would not allow her.
A scientist from Grand Bay, we both worked for a Company from Canada; in Canada they were called Space, in Los Angeles they were Electronic Magnetic’s; Mr. Xavier and his Nephew Branker went home to talk to Edison James (Me biological cousin) about doing a business at home: cut the story short, Branker and his uncle sat outside of Edison office for hours waiting only to be told “the prime minister is busy, can’t see you!
They left and went to Barbados, by the afternoon they met Barbados PM, got permission to operate in Barbados I don’t know if he still there; but I saw one of his latest invention cellular phone, all of that creates…
Sorry, limited writing space cause limited explanation: “Stop waiting on government to do everything. Governments do not create jobs so start the ball roling.”(Mark).
I agree government is not in the business of creating jobs, nevertheless, Dominica is not the place where people can go and invest and be successful, because of political corruption.
You probably know or heard of Kathleen Telemaque, former Dominica, and Caribbean Carnival Queen, well, her husband and brothers, and I will tell the their name, Ferreira wanted to set up a Paper business, producing toilet paper, facial tissues, and other products for export; the government at the time refused to allow them to do it in Dominica; eventually they organized an Airline; one of their Aircraft filled with passengers crashed in Mountains between Wesley and Marigot, it was piloted by an African, that also failed!
It is not because we don’t want to help, or do something, nevertheless, the obstacles are never ending.
Bad…
Makak-Dods Etinne, once again you suffer from acute verbal diarrhoea! Why do you insist of embarrassing yourself like that, old shyster??
I knew Francisco- Dog would burst a blood vessel.Agriculture Minister and CHAIRMAN of the OECS Council of Minister’s,Wesley son of the soil FIDEL GRANT.Smart and we’ll read Dominicans know,former Prime Minister Eugenia Charles and Rosie Douglas told Dominicans they should diversify.Rosie brought a member of the British Parliament,Bernie Grant to Dominica.Grant told Dominicans they would lose their banana preferential on the British market.The blue boss said,Eugenia,Rosie and Bernie were Liars and that he was in a position to make farmers get $1.00 a pound.The farmers refused to diversify and lost to American companies.So who killed agriculture?
I don’t see how anything as stupid revolving around Fidel, Roosvelt and the rest of the puppets playing in their circus could ever on this earth cause me to have an aneurysm!
You had better be very careful you don’t suffer such fate while defending that old Bald- Head the corrupted crook Roosevelt Skerrit. You don’t have to remind me that Fidel is from Wesley, because I know his entire roots, except his biological father; nevertheless, all of his family by mother came from a long line of ” the great, great race of Telemaque.”
He is from the loins of a woman affectionately called ” Mama Pretty, ” one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
You talk about losing “preferential;” every idiot should realize that once the entire Caribbean became independent, any preferential treatment we got from the would no longer exists as we are no longer colonies of Britian; what is unusual about that?
So, here this Fidel is me biological cousin by him mother oui!
Him can deny me…
It appears YOU are related to all the political fools and most money barons. Except, of course, the Lebanese. Or are you related to them as well? How about Makak-Tods Etinne-Kamal? Sounds very important and glamorous? What a sad, lonely old man you areā¦
Mr. Grant, heres a proactive approach. when called on by other institutions and organisations to work with the Min of Agriculture, the cooperation of your ministry would be good. Even a response to invitations would be good.
Secondly, work with the ministry of trace and commerce to ensure that cash crops are cultivated.
Work with the manufacturers association and the ministry of trade and min of finance to construct suitable agro processing facilities to add value to crops. Ensure that an adequate supply of crops is available always for processing for local market and export.
After Maria, the ministry should have gone on a drive to replant replant replant. Especially coconut trees. Our coconut oil industry is almost non existent. pepper sauce producers have to continue to import pepper mash, cocoa producers have to import cocoa beans from other island. What does the ministry of agriculture have to say about this in regard to our food security?
This imposter ordered the bulldozing of over 2K plants pregnant with plantains on the farm of a poor, local farmer. This one egregious action has disqualified the line minister from being the guardian of the agriculture ministry.
Food security is a serious problem in Dominica. But, this shortsighted dimwit, thought it best to completely destroy an acreage or more of a food crop.
This presentation by bulldozer Fidel Grant is more about theatre than substance just like the numerous his other dimwitted colleagues.
“Agriculture Minister and Chairman of the OECS Council of Ministers, Fidel Grant, has said that there must be a proactive approach to the mission for food security, reducing the food import bill and building a sustainable resilient agricultural sector.”(Fidel Grant).
And so, Grant you have now become another of the illiterates whom does not know the true meaning of the term resilient!
I will not attempt to educate you on that except to inform you that if you are capable of crops that are resilience to the elements, especially hurricane, and Flood then you must be a “Wesley god.”
I am very surprised at you; you reputation in the village is that you are pompous, refuse to associate with the rest, they told me you suffer from the better than syndrome, but right now I think you are crazy!
Minister of what food security?
Dominica is rich: hence, the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food should not be difficult for you!
So, that there can be no misunderstanding, of the term I noted ‘of the better than syndrome he displayed in the village’ simply means this:
The us vs them, or me vs them, mentality is a real syndrome that members of the public need to understand, at least to some degree; people with such mentality are not capable of doing anything to improve the life’s of others.
They are self centered conceited, and will use; and trample on others when it suites their purpose for personal gain and benefits.
Someone said he supervised the bulldozing of peoples plant bearing plantains, in Roosevelt lying crap about building International Airport in Wesley; how cold is Fidel?
When he wanted the people vote, he gave then goat meat (boiled goat water) and a bottle of rum, and then aided and abated Roosevelt in taking people land in a cynical way that will allowing him to sell Wesley to his Chines friends.
Mr. Blue and Green, are you going to tell all those delegates, who in Dominica single handedly killed agriculture some years ago and now claims he reinvented the wheel?