SVG imports sheep under the national livestock enhancement programme
Over 100 heads of sheep were delivered to the Vet Division of the Ministry of Agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday, October 17. This is a component of the $27,000,000.00 World Bank-funded national livestock enhancement programme.
Representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and Economic Planning witnessed the arrival of the shipment from the USA.
Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar noted that this importation of sheep for further multiplication is clear evidence of the government’s objective to ensure food and nutrition security and boost exports. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is currently the largest exporter of livestock in the OECS, with its major export market being Grenada.
The project that addressed World Bank assistance is “The Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) Program”. It will be implemented as a series of projects (SOP) over a fifteen-year period (each project has a life cycle of five years). Phase 1 of the UBEC Program, to be implemented between fiscal years 2022 and 2028, involves Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the OECS Commission. Phase I supports national and regional activities with a total financing envelope of US$60 million (US$56 million in IDA credits (national and regional) and grants (regional) along with US$4 million in PROBLUE trust fund grants), of which Saint Vincent and the Grenadines receives US$16 million.
The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines received financing from the World Bank/International Development Association (IDA) for the purposes of implementing the Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) Project (hereinafter ‘the UBEC Project’), whose development objective is to strengthen the enabling environment for the blue economy, economic recovery, and resilience of selected coastal assets in participating countries and provide an immediate and effective response to an eligible emergency.
More animals are expected to be imported over the upcoming months.
