Ministry of Agriculture sets eye on high value markets

Guiste said IICA is of importance to the agricultural sector
Guiste said IICA is of importance to the agricultural sector

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Harold Guiste, has said the ministry is positioning itself to target high value markets in the neighbouring islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other parts of the Caribbean region.

In that regard, he said, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will be of great assistance in providing “value trained analysis to gather relevant data, conducting value chain assessments for various crops of great economic importance to Dominica.”

“This will improve the necessary information for assisting in developing the proper production and marketing strategy for moving agricultural produce from the farms to the markets,” he said at IICA’s Annual Transparency Seminar held at National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD) conference room.

Guiste added, “This will improve the necessary information for assisting in developing the proper production and marketing strategy for moving agricultural produce from the farms to the markets.”

He noted that IICA’s assistance is important as the Ministry of Agriculture strive to, “enhance the output on agriculture, to reduce post harvest losses, increase income to rural, create social stability and to contribute towards poverty reduction in Dominica.”

He stated also that the Ministry looks forward to continued collaboration with IICA which is considered as a major partner in agricultural development in Dominica.

Meantime, Director of Agriculture, Ricky Brumant said the IICA has played a fundamental role in developing agriculture in Dominica.

“IICA has come forth and has been a major facilitator in ensuring that most of our technicians have received training, short term and inter-medium term, to ensure that we have the capacity at the Ministry and the Division to better deliver on our work,” Brumant stated.

He said that local technicians have gone to study in countries such as Mexico in diverse fields such as family farm, agro tourism, quarantine methods, among others.

Brumant stated this is due to the support of the IICA.

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19 Comments

  1. correction
    June 4, 2015

    How does this qualify for news? Where is the tangible benefit? Whatever happened to action speaks louder than words. Am just fed up with these speeches, meeting, is plan to, is going to, intends to, will be, pie in the sky always future tense, never has done, is completed, is finished…….Plz DNO am really fed up with those type of news, these people in Government are a waste of taxpayers money.

    After almost six months, what have they done, not even the tablets that reach. Lazy Government……just travel and drive up and down wasting gas.

  2. Tampa
    June 3, 2015

    This sounds like the story of Rip Van Winkle who went to sleep for 15 years and suddenly got up. So after over 15 years the DLP is finally talking about “High Value Market” at a time when we have regressed so far behind that we may not be able to catch up with other islands that used to envy our production.
    By the time you are through with this study the idea will be gathering dust on a shelf. Take a look at all the reports and recommendations that address the issue that you are trying to re-address. Stop reinventing the wheel.

  3. Peter Potter
    June 3, 2015

    Is this the same government that has destroyed agriculture over the last 12 years? Now all of a sudden clever speeches are made to implement and assess agriculture again. Let me tell you all something, you are a useless bunch of wasters and jokers that is even incapapable of governing a small country like Dominica. Does it make sense to destroy something first and then reinvent and rebuilt it again? Does it? And at what cost may I ask? Who is gonna be held responsible for that?
    I am speechless.

  4. Oh La La
    June 3, 2015

    Mr. Guiste, target the high value markets and start planning towards supplying these markets, then you can you can target the stakeholders who will sustain these markets. We are just so tired of you people coming on a podium to sound smart and strategic. Plan it and make it happen!!!! Too much talk talk talk, PSs Ministers and Senior Government officials are not parrots.

  5. Oh La La
    June 3, 2015

    There is so much confusion in these Ministries it is confusing just to listen to all the talk. The PS is saying one thing, then the Minister and then the PM. Many years ago I heard about a boat that must be introduced to export our agricultural produced, then I heard the Minister for Trade then (Hon. McIntyre) saying that we dont need a boat when the farmers are not producing (that is after the boat never came). Then recently I heard the new Minister of Agriculture talking about the boat and revitalization of farms and feeder roads, and strengthening of Extension officers….(Good), but its just so much talk that it sounds like there is no strategic plan…..they just think and talk on the spur of the moment… The confusion continues while the farmers become daunted and feel that there is no hope. Let us get serious and plan this thing. This is serious business, this is a country!!!!

  6. plantains
    June 3, 2015

    A big LOL to you sir …… Hahahahaha

  7. Francisco Telemaque
    June 3, 2015

    “In that regard, he said, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will be of great assistance in providing “value trained analysis to gather relevant data, conducting value chain assessments for various crops of great economic importance to Dominica.”

    Sweet sounding nothing words; we heard that in the past, we keep talking about the dependency on everybody to help us; even when they help the training or whatever we receive is never put into practice, we revert to our good old gifted craft “talk,” we talk until whatever the dream fades away!

    That is what Dominica is all about, as far as I concerned these clowns believes that Dominica glory is agriculture, and that takes precedence over any other industry. If that has not made our nation prosperous over the years, it will not happen anytime soon.

  8. Francisco Telemaque
    June 3, 2015

    More garbage talk, its all about talk, they all sing the same song, the tune never changes, but when the dance is over, we are back to square one: we always end up doing the three (360) hundred sixty degree angle.

    Last week Blackmoore and the whole circus was buying Ships, many boat to transport agricultural to every place they do not know!

    Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

    This week this other clown is babbling: ” Harold Guiste, has said the ministry is positioning itself to target high value markets in the neighbouring islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other parts of the Caribbean region.” What is preventing that clown from remembering we heard that very tune played over, and over for years now.

    Doesn’t he know that farmers in Guadeloupe, and Martinique grows all of the same products grown in Dominica? You can’t sell to any of the Windward islands, nor Guyana, and Jamaica, so what’s left?

  9. Truth be Told
    June 3, 2015

    Is this a joke, “Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Harold Guiste, has said the ministry is positioning itself to target high value markets in the neighbouring islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other parts of the Caribbean region”. You mean all the years of our existence in Dominica, these natural neighbouring “high value markets in the neighbouring islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other parts of the Caribbean region” were not already targeted? But of course they were and they are already! Or did the Labour Party Government forget about them, lately? Aha! Hahahahahahahahahaha boy look jokes with incompetence on this island! Any plans to reinvent the wheel sir? :lol:

  10. Farmer Boy
    June 3, 2015

    Nature Island Farms (N.I.F)

  11. King Skerrit
    June 3, 2015

    More lies, smoke screens and obfuscations! What are we exporting? Peanez and Poupoole?

  12. sailsbury farmer
    June 3, 2015

    Before we criticize Guiste- we must help him and tell him what to do if you know, you are stuck with his government for five yrs that’s a long time, the British teach you to do exactly what you are doing which is nothing, even you did not vote for them its your country and they are Black like you . If they fail you fail , you are thinking just like a slave, you are doing exactly what the British taught you not to think take a look at the over all pictureDominica what can you do to employ some one else without Government telling you what to do. We have to ask our selves every five yrs we are waiting for our man to get into office to solve our problems in the mean time what do we do to help our self that’s what we have to figure out. How much progress did we make after the British left, on both sides we are p roffessional beggers

  13. neverson St jean
    June 3, 2015

    The pm said in china that he was moving away from agriculture to a services economy. Stop fooling the people

    • Francisco Telemaque
      June 3, 2015

      If Skerrit was serious about moving away from Agriculture, while in China and knew how to use his mountain chicken (Crappo) inelegance, he would have crawled on his yellow belly like the crappo he is and try to get China to invest industrially in the country.

      The Chines spent billions in place such a Daffur in Africa, people are employed, they spend billions around the world, even in the City of Los Angeles, and other places in the United States. All they have done for Skerrit is loan him pennies on the dollar and ensure they come to Dominica, and spend the money as they wish. They bring even the laborers in, then in the interim we have to repay the loan with intriest.

      They do not grow fig, tanya, yams and the stuff we have in China, that might be the place Guiest to sell his agricultural products.

  14. sailsbury farmer
    June 3, 2015

    We as Black people have to get smart, take a look at where we are and where we have to go . What do we talk about , what is our passion , what are we fighting for or fighting over, how educated we think we are, the British do not teach us to make or controls companys. We are going to have to change the whole education system. No much we should debate who have college or not . Because all of us were educated to fail. We don’t control markets , we do not decide the price of our roar materials, some one else in in charge of our entire lives, what we eat , wear, work, sleep. The debate we have every day is about red and blue, I love them both, no one comes up with how do we manufacture or build any thing, we talk about what is one side is not doing. The British did not teach us how to think to build any think , they taught us to fight each other and and serve them. We are not problem solvers we must change the whole system

  15. sailsbury farmer
    June 3, 2015

    I am begging to be proud of my people who served us in government , we are now talking about targeting markets to sell our product. The P.S is now being useful . All P.S must go out in the field and teach our people how to succeed. In 1901 the British send a racist man all over the colony to implement a program to pick winners and losers. They introduced tests where only five percent passes and 95 percent fail, the 95 percent were supposed to be called stupid or not smart enough. And it went all the way to the university of the westindes. We must change the old British model which we still follow now, we must set up a system where every body is smart and we must achieve 100 percent. The word stupid must never be used. Whether you have college or not. We should never call our kids stupid.

  16. June 3, 2015

    I am sorry Mr. Guiste what you say sounds good but with our feeder roads in such a deplorable and appalling state I’m afraid that the Ministry cannot be taken seriously. In parliament the Minister of agriculture refer to the industry as the sub sector which is an indictment on the Govt. for the backwardness in that sector. unless there is a massive drive to turn the industry around we will get to no where in construction you build on the foundation up to the roof.

  17. original hold dem
    June 3, 2015

    GUISTE, stop it, everthing finish in that corrupt infested dummy nest.

  18. grell
    June 3, 2015

    Guiste what market,you and the incompetent labour party have destroyed agriculture,fool the poor and dumb.

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