The Ministry of Agriculture announced on Thursday that it is preparing to help farmers cope with the effects of the extended dry season.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Samuel Carette described the matter as very serious.
“We have very serious drought conditions in some of the areas in Dominica, and we went out on Friday and saw some of the farmers and the crops that are currently affected by that. This is very serious … we’re preparing to respond to that challenge,” Carette stated at a conference at the Public Service Training Centre.
He said however officials must first be informed of the farmers and crops most affected by the drought-like conditions, the loss of income to farmers and their families and the impact on the communities.
– DNO Correspondent
Hold on tight farmers and pray for the heavens to open, this problem is not new. Don,t you forget it is the ‘karem’ season and this is expected. The situation might have been ok for the past years, but it is still the dry season. Mr Samuel Carrette and the farmers concern can prepare farmers next year. Rastafari always care, remember HIM.
To
LOOK SIN and DOMINICAN
Cowards like you make me laugh, you never see solutions you only see problems. Stay with your heads in your *ss and leave people to suggest development ideas.
Mr. Haughton, mono-crop banana farming taught our farmers that either government or a grower’s group/association will always be there to pick up the slack if they facing hard times. We need to teach our farmers to be more self-reliant and self-sufficient and to design their farming systems and cropping strategies with these two aspects in mind. In fact, this current government is only encouraging further dependency…I am not saying we can’t help farmers when extraordinary events call for such measures (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) but there our ways to have a farming system that is more drought-resistant than many of the current methodologies practiced by our farmers. Of course, the government could help out by trucking in some water but I guess they would rather get that dollar for themselves by selling the water to a distant land.
If similar themes repeat in history, Dominicans need not look far back to learn and decern the season’s foreboding. The years leading up to hurricane in 1979 were equally dry and intense. I remember my dad’s brother- in- law saying to him in a conversation; “soleir ka paytay tere”. Is anything different?
Good point Mr. Haughton but keep in mind that we are talking about Dominica and NOT the City of Dominica, Anywhere, USA or UK. Most of our farmers are involved in agriculture on a small scale basis and does not have the knowledge of these systems. Hence, ignorance of potential solutions is one of the biggest problems facing the agriculture industry in the Comm. of Dominica. Hopefully, with the ministry’s help in identifying potential solutions to their problems, they will take the initiative and do what is right instead of constantly waiting on hand-outs from government. If we as a nation have so much water that we are considering selling to other nations, then by all means we should eradicate such nuisances by utilizing the resources at hand.
Who was PS when McIntyre was Minister of Agriculture? Remember how some persons in authority helped themselves, while they pretended to help farmers with fertilizer just de other day. The scandal, which Dominicans rightly named The Fertilizer Bobol involved the half brother of the former minister of Agriculture. There is proof that prices were inflated to benefit a few persons and that was done without Dominicans knowledge. It was only after the secret deal with the Bins was exposed, The Bin Bobol, that Dominicans get to know something, not so exciting, happened with fertilizer too.
Where is the inquiry or the investigation into that fraudulent activity using the people’s money? Who authorised the purchase and payments in those transactions that lacked any transparency? Was the extra thousands of $$$$, falsely charged, which Govt paid to the purchaser, ever paid back to the treasury? The people were cheated but a few got richer. To many that’s no problem. That’s good deal depending on who did it. Are you serious?
So please this time PS Carrette make sure no FERTILIZER BOBOL Command some respect and Say No. Safeguard your name. Work for the Country not for a few greedy politicians. The farmers really need comprehensive short, medium and long term strategies implemented. Too sho too flam unplanned actions have caused the downfall of agriculture. But guess what. The Agriculture Ministry is headed by one of the …Ministers, who has blindly accepted a Coffee plant from Chavez. What research or survey was done. Which ministry officials were part of the decision- making? Even the minister is not convinced that is what we really want now.
PS Carrette remind the Minister of the investigation into the fertilizer Bobol to give the farmers confidence that the help is genuine. Our agriculture should never be in that state of uncertainty and stagnation. Is so we come?
Why don’t farms have water towers on them with sprinkler systems, which can be filled by water truck or fire engine? There are enough rivers to keep them full during dry spells. Dose the government have to do everything for these farmers?
where do you live ? is it a crab hole?mr macarthur haughton
i like u… ur’re a wise a**, most likely wit no job and kissing a** 2 get a daily bread.
y would any farmer invest money on such a venture when its normally expected rain frequently? this situation was unforeseeable and farmers dont have the money to invest on this at the best of times muchless right now.
geez idiots like u amuse me.
Mac-Arthur Haughton,
It is non sense you are talking. The farmers cannot afford to pay for the boxes in which their produces are being shipped abroad, they cannot afford fertilizer for their crops, how then do you expect them to afford water towers and sprinklers? Do you remember the kind of terrain that we have? Image a farmer with a five acre plot on such a terrain.
Can be filled by what? Water trucks or fire engines? Well i guess these are helicopters because there are very few good roads to these farms. And again, THE FARMERS CANNOT AFFORD IT. aND i KNWO SOME OF YOU WILL JUMP up and talk, but let me tell you. I grew up in Wesley, growing bananas with my parents. Every other week we sold 250 – 300 boxes of banana to gess. Now my parents are just sitting there wondering what happened.
Every month I have to find the money to send to them to pay the mortgage, pay the bills and buy food. It is so bad that they are wanting to leave to come to do security work. Can you imagine that? I remember my father boastfully saying “every week Gess buys bananas” . And people coming to borrow fertilizer from us cause we had them by the 20 and 30 bags stored up in our sheds.
Mr. Mac-Arthur Haughton, are you in some developed country running your mouth? Then if so come down and see the reality.