 Hello again, Saint Lucia, and welcome to the program, Agriculture on the Move. My name is Philip Sidney, your host. Today, we have a very special guest, and that guest is the captain of the agricultural ship, staring that ship to food security, and he is none other than the Honorable Alphan Paul Prosper, who has responsibility for agriculture fisheries, and also food security and rural development. My name went a bit away. Welcome to the program, sir. Thank you very much, and it's always a pleasure to be part of this program, to, you know, highlight and inform Saint Lucia of the progress that they are making in agriculture. Definitely. Some time ago, in your presentation in the budget debate, you highlighted the achievements during the period 2020-23. Give us some highlights on those achievements on the ministry. The agricultural sector did very, very well in some key sub-sectors, like livestock, banana industry, fisheries, and general crop production, and I was very, very impressed when I saw the figures coming from the Economic and Social Review of 2022, and that is a document that captures information on how well the various sectors are doing, and I was very happy to see that our production, overall production, overall, in terms of value, added in the agricultural sector, increased by 9.8 percent over the last two consecutive years, previous years, that was extremely low, and we know during that time COVID would have been the major factor causing the reduction in value added in terms of agriculture. We also saw an increase in banana production in 2022. Banana production increased by 10. Almost 11 percent, and what was amazing, although we had a major problem with sustaining the UK market, where we were able to capture a 58.2 percent expansion of our bananas in the regional market, which is exciting, excellent, and should be continued, because the banana production in the region, there is tremendous potential, and let's just see had we not have the regional markets available to us, the situation that existed in the UK as a result of the supply chain issues, the high cost of fruit, we would have been suffering a serious blow to that industry. Unfortunately for us, we are seeing an increase in demand by a number of countries in the region for bananas. As we speak, the figure that I was informed of recently was currently we need 14,500 boxes a week, and we are only supplying about 6,500 boxes of bananas, so it means that we are very low in terms of meeting our quota, and having understanding the importance of the industry, we met all the stakeholders sometime in May, much of this year, and we sat around the table and they expressed their concerns in, you know, what are the key requirements for them to increase production, and one of the requirements was that government needs to assist them and further in terms of the fertilizer, the cost of fertilizer has always been a problem, although our government provided two subsidies, one in September last year and one in January, they are still making a request for increased assistance or more support to enable them to increase their production, and we have submitted a memo to the cabinet, and the cabinet has embraced it, and very soon we should be providing some more support to our farmers, but in this case I want to mention it will not only be the banana farmers, we are also going to be providing that support to the planting farmers, because the planting farmers also play a very important role in terms of exports, but they too are also suffering as a result of the high cost of fertilizer, we are also going to add a new component of support in this case, nematicide, because it does not make any sense providing the fertilizer, but at the same time you are not treating the health or taking care of the health of the plant, the root system, and that is the root system, if the root system is not healthy, then the optical fertilizer will not take place, so I'm very excited and very happy that this is happening, but really actually also in livestock, we have done well in livestock, we did very well in chicken and pork, and also eggs, and that is very, very good for us as a country in terms of increasing our production to ensure that we are food secure. Fish trees, fish trees did very well as well, we saw some increased landings of fish in 2022, so these others very well for the sector, and I just wish and hope that the government can work with the farmers, our ministry can continue to give support to the stakeholders in the sector to continue that level of achievement and increase our production in all areas. Where were we with our vegetable section? Our vegetable section also did well, we increased our achievement in 2010, it was about 9% increase in vegetable production, and that includes fresh vegetables, like the cabbage and tomatoes and so on, and that was a result of, I must say, the Seven Crops Programme contributed to that, because the Seven Crops Programme continued to provide support to farmers in terms of sub-sodium fertilizers, peat moss, irrigation system lines, and a number of other pieces of equipment that they require to help boost production. So that was good, last year you saw the 4000 bags of fertilizer that was given to the farmers, free of charge of vegetable farmers, so that really helped increase production and really, really did well for the sector. My only concern, as I have always been saying, is that we must continue to make a big dent in reducing our food import bill, and I know St. Glutius stands ready and we are doing the best. That is possible to make it happen. Okay, that being said, you're moving forward. Moving forward. We have to achieve more than we did in the last period. Yes. So moving into 2023-2024, let us go back to the banana industry. What is it that we expect to move forward? Well, one, we must be consistent in our supply of bananas in our production. Here is if we have a market, but we are barely meeting half of the market demand. Obviously, for our farmers to continue to secure that market, we must produce bananas on a sustainable basis. Now, we know we have a dry and wet season and we're expecting the dry season in our production and we know that in the rainy season when we expect production to be high, we want it to happen on a sustainable basis because we've been engaging some of the regional importers and they are saying to us, yes, they make the demand, let's say through NFTU and through the other private exporters. But the quantities that they are demanding are not available on a consistent basis. So you can't be saying to an exporter an important engineer that we are going to supply with 2,000 boxes a week. The first week you get 2,000, the second week you get 1,500 quantities. This is not business and this is what we have to do. But in order for us to do that, we must give support to the farmers, the cost of shipping, the cost of the inputs and this is what we have been doing to ensure that they can remain steadfast in terms of maintaining that production level, maintaining the yield that they require to be able to penetrate that market and to consistently provide what is needed. So moving forward, you're looking at not only the regional market, but getting back to our export to the UK. We must continue to remember that the UK is providing a lot more in terms of income back to the farm, they pay a lot more for bananas. But we must ensure that we secure the regional market first. That is key to us because the issues are less in terms of shipping and time frame in terms of moving the food from here to the original versus moving the food from here to London and all the issues in terms of not having a revenue facility in the UK. There are a number of issues that really makes it difficult for us to continue on a sustainable basis to the UK. But if we can secure the regional market, which I believe we can do, then whatever surplus is there, we can begin now thinking of how we can continue into the UK. But I believe for now we need to place all our focus on the region because the market is available, we can move our food very quickly and I believe that is an opportunity for us to take advantage of. Yes, our banana industry is key. However, there is a threat. There is a major threat. And it worries me. Right at our doorstep. It's not here yet. It's not here, then maybe it's here and we're not away. Because it is very close to us, which is not too far away from Venezuela, it's already in Venezuela, it can get to our doorstep. And that is our physio and well to the tropical risk form. Yes, because the tropical risk form, it is a soil-borne disease that begins to affect the roots of the banana trees. It causes wilting of the trees. And depending on what level of stage it is, we cannot cure the problem. In other words, if it gets into St. Lucia, it affects plantain, it affects bananas and other species, I think like macambuia. This disease is a very dangerous and destructive disease. And I am appealing to the farmers to be vigilant in terms of monitoring the plantations. If there is any discoloration or any signs of something unusual in the fields, bananas, plantain, etc., and to call on them to report it to the ministry or any agricultural officer in the region so that they can begin to investigate whether it is that disease. I know in Australia that disease wiped out the entire moussa species, which is the banana species in Australia. And there are many other countries like Peru, it has happened. This is why the ministry understanding the devastating nature of this disease has put in place measures to begin sensitization, to begin increasing our biosecurity at our ports to ensure that we put all the preventative measures in place to avoid diseases coming from St. Lucia. So I wish I could see it in part of all our farmers to understand. Not that I am saying they don't understand English, but just to be able to hit the needle so that every farmer, every St. Lucia understand this negative impact this can have on our agricultural sector. Not only that, the seriousness of this has been taken a bit further. In fact, you have gotten a committee specifically looking into that matter so that we will be able to launch it to the farmer in Creole at all levels so that we can understand what we have. And the good thing about the committee is that we have representatives from Slasper, we have representatives from the farmer groups, we have representatives from the private exporters, we have representatives from the ministry. And so we have a combined team of key people who will be involved in pushing the agenda of sensitization, side visits to the various fields engaging the farmers, publicity, signs at the ports and so on, our food paths, and to really, really, really get on top of this and to take all the proactive measures necessary to avoid it getting to St. Lucia. As we already said, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. This is a very serious concern. And I have engaged all the people in the ministry to tell them how important it is and for us to take the necessary measures. I always believe the proactive approach is the best. You know, being reactive is not always successful because just imagine this is there and how quick it can spread. And at that moment we are going and seeing this is what we should have done. I believe in proactive measures. That's what it is. I think I must say that I have always been demanding of my ministry to ensure that we take proactive measures to avoid the impact on the sector, considering the importance of that industry. Well said. With that in mind, we are due for our break. You are watching Agriculture the most. It will be back soon. Don't go away. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development is placing heavy emphasis on the concept of food security. It's our prosperity, our future. The Cocoa Sector Enhancement Project, CSEP, is targeting the rehabilitation of at least 201 acres of cocoa and the expansion of at least 294 acres. It protects against main diseases like black point and witch's broom and pests like rodents. It secures the appropriate enabling environment to advance the sector. To learn more about the Cocoa Sector Enhancement Project, please contact Project Coordinator at 459-703. Welcome back to the program, Agriculture on the Move. And of course, my guests, the honorable Alfred Prosper, the Minister for Responsibility for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development. Now we have understood exactly the sector is at a very key and we have more programs that are coming this year that I think farmers should be aware of because it's coming their way with speed. There's this project called the Ubeck Project and it is the unleashing of the bleak economy in the Caribbean. All right, then it's get towards food security. Tell us about this project. This project is a world-run project and every time I speak of this project, I smile because I see tremendous benefits for the entire agricultural sector. We are getting support from the World Bank in terms of a sum of almost about 10 million U.S. which will go directly into the agricultural sector and that includes fisheries, livestock, crops and a number of other areas of support that will be given to our stakeholders in the sector. This project is a one-year project and so it focuses on providing assistance to fisheries. So for example, fisheries, safety at sea is a serious concern and we know what happens to our fishers on a regular basis so we'll be providing some level of support to address that problem. Hygiene in terms of our fisheries, when you go to the ports to see the fish cleaners, what do they do? I don't have to explain. They take the fish and sometimes they barely have water and we need to improve that so we need to be able to change that. We also will be giving support to fisheries and more devices in terms of more support to the fisheries in terms of... The fisheries. ...agreed in devices, what do you call it? The funds, yes. Because we know the funds now will reduce on the cost of the fisheries in terms of having to purchase the gas and you know it's very expensive and you can go to those funds and fish and be able to steal a proper livelihood as a fisher. We are going to place tremendous focus on that. We are going to be also giving support to livestock and we are going to implement what we call a National Artificial Insemination Program. The opening of the Bosse Jou, the Valetai Valetai, the next few weeks, I guess well for that but we are going to have programs in terms of increasing our livestock production. We will be bringing new bloodlines or new breeds into St. Lucia that will help boost livestock and more importantly, we will be providing the level of training and capacity building for the livestock farmers to ensure that they can understand how to manage the breeds and the stock, animal stock and to be able to make more money. In terms of crops, we are going to focus on provision of assistance for drainage, irrigation, input support, machinery, small machinery because it is important for us to grow the sector and mechanize the sector and bring in new technology. So I see tremendous opportunity for the agricultural sector and I forgot to mention areas like greenhouse agriculture. We know what happens to the farmers in the rainy season when consistent rains can reduce the yield and production and so it does well for the sector but really it is an attempt for us to reduce our level of food insecurity by enabling our farmers, our fishers and other persons in the sector to produce more and so that we can eat a lot more of what we produce and we can produce a lot more of what we eat all in an effort to reduce our food import bill in the near future. Do you foresee... That program is for one year, right? It's a one year program. And what sort of funding are you looking at? And we are looking at 10 million US which is about 25 million EC dollars. To spend in one year? In one year. That's in Shailajian. So this is why I am very concerned and what we are doing as a ministry is to be able to ensure all our procurement plans are in place because we are hoping that this project will start the first of September for another 12 months. But you don't want to wait when September starts for you to be figuring out where for example to get the new breeds, the new bloodlines all of the things that are supposed to be done before that should be in place. So when our procurement time is there we will not be looking at what we have not done and what we should have done. And this is one of the things that I have been pointing out to my staff that we must put all our plans in place so as soon as that date starts and we have the money we begin to implement them. Because one year is not a lot of time but I just hate to do that we are receiving those funds and at the end of one year half of it is not spent. The farmers, the fishers and the stakeholders are the ones who suffer and I really wish that all our stakeholders would be able to benefit from this because the overall goal objectives of it is to reduce our food insecurity. We must be food secure. We must ensure that we can continue to feed ourselves. So I see tremendous potential in this project for our farmers, our fishers, everyone in the state and the government the people as a whole. And I just hope that it would be one of those those success programs that we can achieve as a government and a ministry. In terms of training is it a component? It's a big training component because a lot of times people think we just get the money and just give it and buy it and the thing about the money the funds that we are getting it's limited, there are certain things you cannot do. So you cannot use it to buy two vehicles you cannot use it to buy a building a lot of it is support more or less support. Capacity building, training of extension officers extension of farmers technology and agriculture the fishers that support in terms of safety but you cannot use the funds to say I'm going to pave a road a feeder road in Mao or Demi or whatever you cannot use the funds there are limitations in terms of how easy it is but it can allow us to do a lot of procurement you know so if we want to give support to the farmer in the localizer we can do that we can give support in terms of tillage and drainage and maintenance and you bring in new equipment and we can bring in new equipment we can bring in new blueprints and so on we can do all of that but we cannot buy a building or see we want to buy two vehicles and give one to the ministry and give one to the marketing board there are limitations. In terms of your as you mentioned marketing and marketing board moving forward what I know marketing board have done quite a lot but then what do you think is your objective your main aim for marketing board as far as marketing or produce is concerned I believe and I'm not sure whether the marketing board understands that but it's really supposed to be a marketing entity for our farmers you don't want to be asking farmers to grow plant, produce increase production but when they are ready to sell they don't know where to turn and this is the whole idea of the marketing board to be able to buy everything our farmers grow and produce and then to redistribute to the hotels to the supermarkets and to the smaller restaurants our farmer is at the level where he's ready for harvest and he's been told I cannot buy your foods I cannot buy your produce or I can buy but as the only price I can pay you and the price that they offer in the farmer is very low I also want to see marketing board not only focus on local distribution export to the region and other countries in the world so we have to be able to encourage farmers to sign more contracts with the marketing board now we know the marketing board suffered a financial went through a financial problem in New Zealand months and we are now working with the SEMU development bank to give some financial support to marketing board in terms of a loan I know they are very close to closing that chapter so marketing board will be able to sustain itself and be able to have enough funds for the farmers just imagine as a farmer you sell to the marketing board and you have to wait six weeks one month to get your money there is no way that this family will be encouraged to continue selling so we must ensure that we give the marketing board the support it requires and the good government that we are and the government that is putting people first we are now this year to help it we have been able to get the resources to be able to buy more but my vision for the marketing board is to buy as much as possible from our farmers and export to the region to other countries and to make our farmers more comfortable in increasing the production but also getting a very good price for the hard work that program will be looking at the SEMU project also yes all aspects of agriculture cuckoo and just to mention the cuckoo we have the cuckoo project we have 1.4 million dollars and the whole idea of the cuckoo project is to diversify the agricultural sector we must do that and just as I mentioned considering what the TR4 if it gets to SEMU sure you must have other crops that you can depend on this is why the cuckoo project is very important because we have a lot of plantations of cuckoo a lot of the plantations are not well managed we know the cuckoo pod problem that is affecting our farmers but there is a sustainable, reliable market in the inky that can buy all the cuckoo that we produce in SEMU sure and so that's an opportunity for our farmers who may not be very much involved in active agriculture to be able to maintain his little cuckoo plantation and be able to earn a livelihood from that so that is a very good project anyway we are continuing that project I also want to mention that my concern with regards to the fisheries facilities those facilities are the Japanese that men give us we have an amount of money available and we are going to give attention to January we are going to give Miku a washroom facility we are going to give support to the viewport facility and we are hoping that we can upgrade those facilities because when those facilities were donated to us we had no consideration for maintenance of these facilities and we have seen a rapid deterioration of the facilities that is why our government has to upgrade and ensure that these facilities will continue to provide the functions that it was meant for as we are ending you have come to the end of the program already honorable any final words from you I just want to see to the stakeholders in the sector that we know they are going through challenging times we know climate change is impacting them we know the high cost of people they are going through but I want to tell them that we as a government we as a ministry understand that and we know that and whatever we can do to assist them in the production in the live loads and continue to produce for us we understand without food we cannot survive and I just want to be patient sometimes I don't get the support right away they seem to think that the government is not in it but I know our government means well and my government takes agriculture very very seriously and it's just a matter of us getting the resources to be able to do that we also have another project I forgot to mention which is the climate adaptation project another 9.9 million dollars that is supposed to be spent or in the sector for the next four years I just want them to be a little patient thank you very much thank you very much for being a minister and I wish you success and I know you will be successful for your ministry you've been watching our Reculture in the Move of course my guest minister for our Reculture thank you for viewing the program and remember our Reculture in our business it's fresh, it's the Lucia's best I'm Philip Sidney goodbye thank you sir