 The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development joined the parliamentary representative for Sufre and the ambassador for Taiwan to St. Lucia on a visit to the communities in Sufre. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Hon. Alfred Prosper, on the latter leg of his familiarization tour, joined the parliamentary representative for Sufre Hon. Emma Hippolit and ambassador of Taiwan to St. Lucia, His Excellency Peter Chien-Chien on a visit to several agricultural organizations and farm areas in Sufre. Parliamentary representative for Sufre Hon. Emma Hippolit notes that the visit was conducted with the goal of better understanding the current developments in the agricultural sector in the region. I felt it was appropriate to bring the Minister of Agriculture in so that he could actually see, visit some of the farms, see the issues firsthand and then to sit down and try to address it. Sufre was the breadbasket. It has significant potential and we had to sit down and not just do a project from the desk, a project that will address the problems that the farmers are having. Jacques Ovali product, Rainforest Foods and the Bellevue Farmers Cooperative were among the organizations visited. Ambassador of Taiwan to St. Lucia, His Excellency Peter Chien-Chien, remarked on St. Lucia's distinct and competitive private sector, noting that there are varieties of areas where the Taiwanese and St. Lucia governments can collaborate to aid in the recovery of the local economy. I really admire all the women who are involved in this sector and I'm glad that Minister Hippoly introduced this cooperative to me and I believe the future cooperation between Taiwan and St. Lucia and all our projects can benefit this kind of cooperative and benefit their work in the future. Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Alfred Prosper stated that Sufre is a drive in forcing St. Lucia's efforts to achieve self-sufficiency. He says there is strong emphasis on ensuring that the agricultural sector in Sufre receives assistance with the issues raised throughout the tour. To have people producing products of this nature, they need urgent support, just like our farmers that we visited in Derash. You have a high number of farmers, those who are producing potato, tashin and other root crops. They are also making an invaluable contribution to food security in St. Lucia, but they are challenged by what I heard today. The road has been a serious problem many years ago. I know in the past some attention has been given to the road, but from what I gathered this morning, the road has become and has been a major issue for those farmers in the Derash area. Now I know the government is stretching in terms of financial resources now, but we have to also understand the critical role that those farmers play in terms of food production. We have to find some way of relieving them of this situation and to ensure that we continue to encourage them to produce. Recognizing the many issues confronting the Sufre community, the Minister for Agriculture Hon. Alfred Prosper reaffirmed his commitment to improving the agricultural industry in St. Lucia. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Antoine reporting.