With the demise of the Banana Industry due to the loss of preferential markets within the United Kingdom, Dominica along with the other Windward Islands were forced to diversify their economies to cushion the shock from the loss of foreign exchange.
The rural communities, with a strong dependence on bananas were most widely affected with many farmers completely turning away from the agricultural industry to other sectors for employment (tourism, security, transportation and other services). Some farmers still remained steadfast and ensured that the Agricultural sector continued to make a significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.
In 2009, a new program the Support to Horticulture Sector Program, was initiated to further assist in the diversification of the industry and to also increase crop production and productivity for both domestic supply and export markets. The Program, which targets mainly dasheen, yams, tannia, ginger, passion fruit, sweet potato and cut flower production, has now become one of the major areas of support to farmers from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Extension Service Unit within the Ministry of Agriculture plays a significant role in the sensitization and execution of the program and is directly responsible for farmer registration, field demonstration, training, input distribution and crop establishment data collection on a monthly basis. The farmer registration and data collection component of the program also assist exporters and potential exporters with production forecast information for the various crop commodities.
The number of commercial farmers has significantly increased due to the initiation of the Horticulture Program because of a strict criteria for qualification and continued support under the various components.
Over the last two months, the Program has been working towards increasing ginger establishment in the south, east, north and northeast of the country by assisting farmers with training, planting material and inputs.
Approximately one hundred 100 farmers have thus far been engaged in ginger expansion and production and a significant increase in production is anticipated.
For more information about the Support to Horticulture Program, please contact your area extension team.
So what is the big deal with the diversification Eugenia Charles was an advocate for it from since the late eighties early nineties.
There are 2 major factors crippling our diversification thrust and that is:
1. Farmers are fearful of committing themselves to farming since this Government had never seen it fit to capitalize on the market structure already in place for bananas. As it is ,farmers are being encouraged to get into and increasing production but with no market guarantees. End result more frustration.
2.There seem to be no urgent effort to get into full scale Agro- processing in the end the farmers produce more but no guaranteed market and no manufacturing arm to process the excess. The farmers have no choice but to stand by while they witness their products, labour and monies going to waste.
Just some other thoughts…….
Remember we were promised a cargo boat by a certain Minister of govt. Where is that cargo boat,
and why is it that sectors like public assistance gets 6 million dollars and the Agriculture Investment Unit gets 1 million to develop agriculture?
And why is it that no serious effort is being made to produce our own animal feed in Dominica to be able to reduce on the cost of production in the livestock sub sector?
Why is it that the fish scraps at the various feed mills have never been used to provide the protein source for animal feeds?
Frankly there are so many other such concerns that we farmers have that we have REAL fears as to where we are heading with Agriculture in Dominica.
So when you guys do not see comments don’t think that we do not have issuesIt is because we are PATRIOTIC that we decide not to comment on every issue in the news.
A Tissue culture plant is vital for any positive thrust in the agricultural sector to be truly meaningful.
We are all asking for positive signs and progressive work in Agriculture. This is one. Good initiative!
No one sees it fit to make a comment on agriculture? I am not in the field but would love to encourage greater production and a programme bent on having the lazy youth dig the soil plant rip sell and support selves.
We are waking up to the fact that the banana industry as we knew it is dead. Crop diversification is the way and we are making progress.
Great initiative! May God bless your efforts
They are just playing games with the lives of farmers. We need real investments in the modernization of the farming sector. Please find the farm investmentment funds.
I am wondering, why don’t articles like these get the number of comments like those political ones. You see PATRIOTS or those who claim to be PATRIOTIC, like positive and good things for the country. I am JUST THERE wondering, are some of us for real, or are we haters to the extent that we are blinded by the good things that happen? GOOD SEES THE HEART PEOPLE. HE CAN NOT BE FOOLED.
Good observation “just there”
It’s important to realize that people thrive on bad news and gossip. There’s nothing much for them to twist and misinterpret here.
I also commend these efforts of the agriculture sector, yet i must say that it is disheartening to see where we are as far as diversification is concerned. What you seeing now is something which occurred back in the late 1980’s with the aim of buffering the farmers from the assumed fall of the banana industry. Today we should have been seeing a photo of value added products from above mentioned cultivated raw materials (Crops). Almost three decades later we are still planting with the aim of exporting and later import the processed products.
This indicates how stagnated we are in various aspects. Every Government Criticizes each other for not doing enough and when in office they rather start from ground-up rather than where the other left off.