Agriculture Minister, Reginald Austrie, had told farmers in Salisbury that Dominica has to be rebuilt after Hurricane Maria and they must to look to the future.
He spoke during a ‘Meet the Farmers Tour’ in the community last week.
“We have a country to build, we have a country to feed,” he said. “We have an economy to fix and so while can lament on the past but I think the bigger picture is what the future holds for us.”
He told the farmers now is the time to start afresh in the agriculture industry.
“We don’t want to stifle anybody, we want to give you your freedom to speak and speak as much as you want,” he stated. “But I believe Maria has washed away many of our sins, Maria has washed away many of the things in the river and I believe it’s time that we start afresh, that we turn over a new leaf and let us see where we can take that industry and how successful we can make the industry.”
Austrie pointed out there are two distinct type farmers and they should be treated differently.
“We should have two types of farmers,” he explained. “We should have commercial farmers, that is farmers that produce on a large scale for the export market and we should have small farmers that should concentrate on providing food for us the local market.”
According to Austrie, the two cannot be treated in the same way.
“You cannot give a small farmer two bags of fertilizer and give the commercial farmer two bags of fertilizer, it does not make sense,” he stated. “You cannot give a small farmer a quart of gramaxone and give everybody a quart of gramoxone across the board, it can’t work like that.”
He said such approach does not make sense.
“It doesn’t make any sense because the needs are different, the expanse of their cultivation is different and their work is different,” Austrie said.
Never understood why people still go listen to these politicians in D/a…it’s all talk and no action
Austrie so you confess to the wrong that you guys did,but the bigger price will be paid this hurricane season again.
Hurra, Hurricane Maria wash away the sins of the bullets and teargas on the Salisbury farmers
Skerrit dem must be desperate
We have to start afresh agreed and start afresh with a New GOVT.
Because we will be in the same place with this incapable GOVT or worse 5 years from now.
Tell Austrie we don’t want to hear Maria wash away everthing, tell him when we stood for our roads he and goons didn’t see it fit to meet with the farmer instead they send down guns and tear gas .Austrie take that nonsence to your Laborrats we in Salisbury will never never for get that, u and your goons have 42 of our farmer in court and u talking about Maria where were you in 18 years waiting for u guys come electoin day. U GUYS MUST TO GO.
What hector planting?
Bottles doesn’t grow nah
The level of communication from the mouths of our Ministers are amazing. It seems that their communication/education level is standard one. Their conversation/communication lacks substance , truth. I will gladly received Linton’s ugly face any day then these Ministers ugly communication/conversation. At least with Linton I understand and learn and I am enlightened
Level of intelligence coming from the mouths of our Ministers are amazing! They speak at a standard one level, they speak with no substance or truth
Agriculture and agro-processing should get the full attention of the government. Dominica should have been the agricultural hub of the sub-region. There is plenty of arable lands and an abundance of sunshine and water. The farmers must be incentivized to produce copiously to make the country self sufficient in many food crops. Workshops should be convened with the farmers to teach new methods and techniques to get maximum yields, also proper storage and packaging. Farmers’ cooperatives should also be encouraged throughout the farming communities. I’m convinced that if agriculture becomes the #1 industry, the economy will flourish.
Reading some of those comments make one wonder whether those people really want anything good fror the country they claim they so dearly love. You don’t do, THEY complain. You do, is mama ras.
What is really wrong with those people? Why should politics be the main ingrident in any and all positive discuss?
Hey DONKEY ON THE BLOCK, why do you think that everyone has to agree with everything these laborats say? Once is your party in question you defend. Do you think that the smart people of Salisbury should give Austrie the time of day after they got teargased and almost got murdered for protesting? If you have a problem with our comments take us to court and sue us too just like they did to Matt. People like you sound like the ace of all *****
Bro there is politics in the type of air u breath and the purity of the water u drink
Hello Kid, Don’t take any notice of that lots they are all vagabonds and a wicked senseless bunch of wingers, When the bells toll our X on the voteing papers will kick those idiots where the Sun never shines.
Heck with Austrie. I don’t even want to read his foolishness
They are fishing for votes all over the island. It looks like the air is getting thinner at the top.
After 18 years we hear this elementary talk. If is one thing he said that’s true. that farmers have to look towards the future. That future will not include the current set of Politicians.
Dominica thanks them for trying their best (i.e, to help themselves) but Dominica deserves fresh thinkers, and able bodies to move forward. The revolution is on and necessary…
The level of conversation and the lack of any scientific and sustainable plan is amazing. Austrie want people to forget past talking crap about maria wash sins away. What a Jack!!! Austrie is coming to tell people that you cannot give a man with 1 acre and a man with 20 acres the same amount of resources. Oh WOW!!! brilliant austrie brilliant!!!! We never knew that does not make sense. It took you 18 years to figure out it cannot work like that. You should have told Drigoat you were doing research all this time “Asstrie”. I agree with him the farmers need to start fresh. The whole country need to start fresh. After all they have suffered the salbury farmers should for a national farmers association to kick the government out start fresh, with fresh minds. Every farmer knows that a crop of bannas or yams ar dasheen need replanting with new crop to be productive. Leave to old plants and your garden is useless. Treat this gov as you old dasheen plot tgat needs replanting.
In other words despite the fact we screwed you before Hurricane Maria, put that aside, pretend it never happened, forget the past and let’s all look to the future.
Austrie, experience is a great teacher and to tell these people to forget what the government has done to them is an insult to their intelligence.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.