Project launched to strengthen investment in agriculture through women farmers’ participation

Dr. Kyra Paul, Sawana Fabien

A project aimed at strengthening investment in agriculture by recognizing women farmers’ participation in agricultural development in Dominica was launched this week.

The Pilot Microfinance scheme dubbed “Agriwomen Chq N Gro” was launched during a ceremony held at the Prevost Cinemall conference room this week.

The pilot facility which is expected to become operational almost immediately, will benefit women from the parishes of St Paul, St Patrick, and St David from ages 18 to 65 years.

The project is being organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green in collaboration with The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture  (IICA) and the National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD).

“The launch of the microfinance mechanism is, therefore, a very welcome development and so the ministry applauds and supports the facility goals to strengthen agriculture investment by recognizing women farmers’ participation in contribution and their leadership in agriculture development in Dominica,” Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy, Dr. Kyra Paul said while delivering the feature address at the ceremony.

She continued, “We have an opportunity to increase the production, the farmers who are benefiting from this project have an opportunity to increase their production or to add value to their product.

Dr. Paul added, “While we look forward to the operationalization of the facility, which is very important to us, we welcome incorporated and integrated approach.”

Furthermore, she stated that the facility plays an important role in global development goals such as livelihood, income generation, economic growth, food security, and gender equality.

She said the ministry continues to maintain its commitment to providing continuous support to families in various programs.

Dr. Paul also appealed to the private sector agencies to partner and increase financing for agriculture and farming-related purposes that can help.

National Coordinator for the UNDP Guyana-Dominica Project, Sawana Fabien said the project’s overall objective is to reduce vulnerability of small farmers and women groups, “and we have done so remarkably with the partnership that we’ve experienced on this project.”

“I am conscious that the project serves as a mechanism to support the government in achieving the sustainable development goals and acknowledge that the support, guidance, and leadership from you the stakeholders have been instrumental in enabling the many successes of this project and the other initiatives of the UNDP office in Dominica,” she stated.

She went on to state that this project is one of the examples of the Government of Japan’s continued support in the region and of course in Dominica.

Fabien hopes that the implementation of those activities and many more to come will definitely go further to support the government’s progress in making Dominica one of the first climate-resilient nations in the world.

Meantime, Business and Entrepreneurial Development Officer of the  NDFD, George Challenger explained that the gender-based climate smart loan product- AgriWomen Chq N Gro – was primarily developed for the Commonwealth of Dominica and administered by the NDFD.

According to him, the loan size is from $1000 to $10,000.

“In the initial stage of the project we had about $30,000, but we couldn’t go with $30,000 because we had to limit the amount of persons who would get access to the funding,” he explained.

Challenger also mentioned that the loan interest rate is 2.5%, reducing the balance.

 “Every other facility that we have at the NDFD is way higher than that,” he noted. “We have 8% for small businesses, we have 22% for personal use…this loan is absolutely collateral free.”

He continued, “You have no cash deposit, you have no land paper, none of these other requirements that our loan facility has.”

Challenger pointed out that the production activities will entail crops, livestock, agro-processing, indigenous craft production/production of primary raw materials, and technology-centric to improve production and profitability.

He said the terms and repayment options include 12 to 60 months for capital and operating expenses, bi-weekly fortnightly and monthly installments, grace conditions, moratorium consideration in special situations, and refinancing and rescheduling options available.

For more information please contact the NDFD via Email [email protected], telephone numbers (767)448-3240/ 275-5251, or visit the office located at 9 Great Marlborough Street in Roseau.

 

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1 Comment

  1. Beta
    December 22, 2022

    Look it, the ministry black, gold and pink is launching more projects. Let’s watch out for results! Personally I hazard a guess as of the outcome: zero, null, zilch. As per usual, plenty of TALK but no ACTION.

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