 Keeping true to promises made to banana farmers, Agriculture Minister Honourable Alfred Prosper has announced that all banana farmers will receive a 30% subsidy on inputs to maintain the production output of their farms. The agreements sealed by the Agriculture Ministry and the National Fertree Organization, NFTO, will ensure that banana farmers have access to cheaper agricultural inputs, in particular, fertilisers which have been highlighted by farmers island-wide as a necessary point of assistance. Chairman of the National Fertree Organization, NFTO, Larry Andrew, says this agreement will assist in boosting production and bringing the local banana industry to the level required to maintain key international markets. What we get in here is a start and I'm hoping that it is something that we could look to continue working. As it is now based on the MOU, farmers would benefit from two cycles of fertilizer at a reduced cost and it would be two 25 kg bags per acre. The discount would be 30% and of course equivalent of the 150 kg bag. And of course, like I said, farmers would benefit from a two cycle. We would be administering on behalf of the government the subsidy and NFTO has always been the case. NFTO looks out for all farmers. So the NFTO is not just looking out for the banana farmers of the NFTO. We all understand that whenever productivity is rising or it is increasing on island, all stakeholders tend to benefit, including the NFTO. So when we do our decisions as the NFTO, we always think of all stakeholders in the banana industry, not just the NFTO farmers. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Honourable Alfred Prosper explains that from the inception of his tenure, a major challenge expressed by farmers across the island has been the high cost of inputs. According to him, this latest decision by the Cabinet of Ministers demonstrates the priority placed on building resilient, sustainable agricultural livelihoods and underscores the importance of the banana industry to St Lucia. I'm certainly sure this subsidy will give great relief to our farmers, especially those banana farmers who have been struggling. I know what they went through after Elsa when most of the plantations were damaged and they had to be struggling to still maintain those plantations. Now they're going to be getting a relief for a short period of time and we're hoping that this will continue into the next quarter. I'm hoping that the second subsidy will be provided to the farmers before the end of December and we are hoping that this will continue to the next financial year to continue to provide that support to our farmers. With a continued emphasis on increasing our food security, Minister Prosper reinforces that the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to work with sector partners to improve the banana industry. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Andouan reporting.