Dominica: EC$1 million direct support for banana and plantain farmers
Dominican banana and plantain growers will receive equipment, fertilizers, and soil amendments to help them with general husbandry and boost productivity and profitability.
According to a statement issued by the OPM Pressroom.
Farmers will receive support depending on their cultivated acreages and output levels beginning June 1, 2023, thanks to the intervention of the World Bank-funded Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy.
Farmers will get incentive packages in two categories: those with two acres but less than three acres under active cultivation will receive a package worth $5,400.00, while those with three acres but less than six acres would receive a package worth $10,800.00. In addition, each farmer will receive ten (10) bags of Agricultural White Lime and two (2) packets of Diathane for each acre cultivated.
Kervin Stephenson, Project Manager, stated that cultivating these national priority crops is vital to ensuring Dominica’s food security and contributing to foreign exchange revenues.
He stated that the Ministry has coordinated agricultural production with the ongoing ‘Eat Local, Live Long’ initiative.
“With the resources provided by the Dominican government and through the Ministry’s policy directive, we continue to provide stability to the sector, and through the equitable distribution of supplies, the structure of the Banana and Plantain Unit and other units within the Ministry will make advancements,” Stephenson said.
Dominica’s government stated that it remains dedicated to boosting the Ministry of Agriculture’s institutional capability in order to support an increase in banana and plantain production levels on the island.
