 The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, held a consultation meeting to gather input on the current state of the agriculture sector in order to develop the agricultural policy framework and strategy for St Lucia 2023-2030. The agriculture sector in St Lucia has faced many challenges in recent years, including climate change, limited resources, and the need for increased productivity and competitiveness. With this new agricultural policy framework and strategy, the government aims to address these challenges and create a more sustainable and inclusive agriculture sector. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Barry Morphilicier, expressed his appreciation for the valuable input and feedback provided by the various Ministry officials, emphasising the importance of collaboration and partnership in achieving the goals and objectives of the new policy framework and strategy. The agricultural policy for the Ministry of Agriculture expired in 2022. We sought assistance from the FAO, that is the Food and Agriculture Organization, for the development of a new policy. This policy is supposed to run from the year 2023 to 2030, in tandem with the 2030 Sustainable Goals Development Agenda. Therefore, the Ministry is ensuring that we meet those international milestones and the commitments that we signed up for. According to the lead technical officer on this project attached to the FAO, Ruben Robertson, the new framework and strategy aims to enhance the productivity of the agriculture sector in St Lucia, while promoting sustainable growth, especially in light of the new challenges Benin faced. We want to make this strategy homegrown, that is owned by not only the Ministry of Agriculture but all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector, so that together we can change the dynamics in terms of having a strategy that not only focuses on the recovery of the agricultural sector, but transformation, doing things completely different, making agriculture more attractive to the young people, making agriculture more responsive in terms of reducing the food import bill and at the same time increasing and enhancing the livelihood of all the people who seek and eat a living out of agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and World Development is committed to ensuring that the new agricultural policy framework and strategy for St Lucia 2023-2030 is aligned with the needs and priorities of stakeholders in the agriculture sector. The policy is expected to create new opportunities for farmers and other stakeholders and contribute to the overall development of the country. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting.