Two multidisciplinary teams from the Simón Bolívar International Task Force on Friday 16 April, visited with the Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar agricultural areas in the north of the island most affected by the explosions of the La Soufrière Volcano.
Most of St Vincent’s agricultural areas are located within the red zone and therefore the most affected.
The teams visited planting fields, poultry, cattle and swine farms, where they observe total devastation, this also included losses from plantain, banana, pineapple, eggplant plantations, coconut trees.
The teams also noted dead animals and homes destroyed by the effect of ash.
The communities included Rabacca, Overland, Magum and London in Sandy Bay.A visit was also made to a shelter in Diamond.
Minister Caesar said the period of recovery in the northern part of the island is approaching, but it won’t be easy as this would require machines and equipment to remove the hundreds of tons of ash that is covering that area.
The country’s economy is affected by the fact that a significant percentage of the production of crops used for exports to Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda among others is now lost.
La Soufriere erupted explosively on 9th April 2021.
