 The Departments of Agriculture and Sustainable Development have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Jeff Six East Coast Southeast Project. The five-year project will focus on ecosystem management, landscape restoration, and sustainable livelihoods on the southeast coast of St. Lucia. Permanent Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources, and Cooperatives, Barry Morphilly-Cierres says the Division of Forestry will be assisting in establishing at least one marine protected area, as well as the restoration and rehabilitation of mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Further support will also be given to farmers so that they can engage in value-added services such as agro-processing. So within the Department of Agriculture, we have three critical departments that have to work collaboratively with the Department of Sustainable Development and other stakeholders including the local community leaders and community groups to execute and implement the project activities. So we are at the Department of Agriculture committed to making this project a success and with the signing of its MOU, we used to formalize our commitment and we look forward to working with UNEP, Jeff, the project coordination team to make better their lives of every solution. Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Department of Sustainable Development says the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding marks a milestone for the Jeff Six East Coast Southeast Project as the Department of Sustainable Development continues to address the lack of integrated protection of the ecosystems on the Southeast Coast. The MOU clearly outlines the rules and responsibilities of the Department of Sustainable Development and all the divisions of the Department of Agriculture. It will provide guidelines for the cooperation and collaboration between the two agencies. We look forward to working with the Department of Agriculture and to strengthen the collaboration between the departments under this project. The Jeff Six East Coast Southeast Project is estimated at approximately 4.4 million US dollars. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Antoine reporting.