 Welcome to Nation Beat. I am General Norville bringing you this brief on the pulse of our nation and highlights around the heart of St. Lucia. The local banana industries hit hard by tropical storm Kirk. St. Lucia's Prime Minister makes a case at the UN for International Support for Small Islander States. The St. Lucia-Taiwan Partnership Trade Show exhibits tangible results and the invigorating traditional sounds of cultural icon Joseph Ramos Paulion. The howling winds and pummeling rains of tropical storm Kirk have dissipated but the impacts sustained by St. Lucia on the night of Thursday 27 September 2018 lingers. In the aftermath assessment teams have been on the ground determining the level of damage through the island's infrastructure and economic sectors. The vulnerability of the agriculture sector to weather events, particularly the banana industry, has once again come to the fore. Lisa Joseph has the details. A preliminary assessment of the damage to the agriculture sector during the passage of tropical storm Kirk shows a 60% overall impact with between 85 to 90% of farmers in the north of the island feeling the brunt. The banana sector was hardest hit. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives, Honourable Ezekiel Joseph, who told affected farms in the aftermath of the storm Friday, says it is disheartening to witness the devastation, particularly as the industry was well on its way to recovery following the 2013 Christmas Eve trough, Hurricanes Tomas, Irma and Maria. The banana industry was severely hit, unfortunately, after we have done so much work as it pertains to supporting farmers, as it pertains to the program which is in second year and we saw a level of production productivity increasing. I must say my concern is how the farmers would respond to that situation. Because coming from 2016, we encouraged them to give them the support that was needed. We had the Government of Taiwan helping us as far as the program, bringing down technical people to assist us in looking at our technology, what we can do different as it pertains to implementing programs that will be more resilient to the storms. And whilst we are doing this, again we have been faced with another unfortunate situation. Minister Joseph is concerned that the damage to banana fields will discourage farmers and cause slippage in the numbers, desirous of continuing in production. This is a dilemma the industry has faced before, resulting in a significant loss to the pool of banana farmers. Through a vigorous incentive program, Government has been able to draw back farmers to the fields. Minister Joseph is hoping that the support mechanism will sustain the industry post-tropical storm curve. People are saying that we should move away from the banana industry. My own view is about that. The question is which other crop, we want to move away from which other crop that we can cultivate. We should be based on the type of agriculture we have, the size of our estates, the size of our farm, that will enable farmers to be able on a sustainable basis to have a weekly or fortnightly income over a period of time, two, three, four years. So that is a challenge we have. But I'm hopeful that we as a Government will be able to give some support. I know I have a Prime Minister who is very much interested in the Cabinet and is very much interested in the agriculture sector and I'm sure with a proper program in place looking at the cool aspect of resilience and agriculture, we should be getting support that we need. Danielle Donovan, a farmer from Bel-Air, lost his banana field to tropical storm curve. He is open to restore his livelihood with the help of the Government. He would like to see an extension to the incentive scheme. Before the storm, we had a program, we had a system called Fetil Eguano. So if the program continues, we will be able to provide support. Also, the cost of the harvest is very high. We have to cut it, we have to cut it with a chopper. The cost of the harvest is very high. We have to pay for the harvest. In the meantime, we have to pay for the harvest, because we have to pay for the harvest. We have to pay for the harvest. A comprehensive report on the damage caused by tropical storm curve is expected to be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers this week. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. Main time Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan Shasne has lamented the lack of financial and other support for small island developing states' sids saying that global policies, programs and strategies remain unfairly unaccommodating to the very real and true challenges facing sids, including climate change. The St. Lucia leader made the point as he addressed the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, 28th September. Small island developing states' sids and middle income countries according to the Prime Minister are some of the terms used to reference St. Lucia. These terms, however, have an even deeper meaning which speaks to some of the challenges currently confronting the country. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly Prime Minister of St. Lucia, the Honourable Alan Shasne, indicated that the sids are more vulnerable to natural hazards than other countries. The Prime Minister explained that these countries, because of assumptions made based on the many acronyms associated with them, continue to face additional challenges. The world acknowledges our acronyms, but little or nothing else changes. St. Lucia remains economically vulnerable to the risking and the loss of correspondent banking relations. Remain out of the reach of any access to concessionary finance. Our reputations are unfairly tarnished by tax labels. We continue to struggle under the weight of international frameworks that do not provide an enabling environment for my country to chart an effective, sustainable development path, or even to be able to take control of our own destiny. Madam President, despite the fact that the odds remain stacked against us, St. Lucia must still persist. I have an obligation to the people of my country, and so I must find new and innovative ways, regardless of how difficult, to keep my country growing and to ensure an enhanced environment of social protections. The Prime Minister also highlighted the passage of Tropical Storm Cook and the earthquake. He pledged that government support despite the challenges to the farmers and farming communities that experience extensive damage due to the passage of Tropical Storm Cook. Our resilience as a people and our ability to pick ourselves up should never be used against us. I applaud Japan, India, and the numerous states within the United States of America who have the capacity to effectively respond to natural disasters. I envy that they have the necessary fiscal and policy space to enable them to recover and rebuild effectively, but we as SIDS are continually denied this ability. We're aware that Dominica, the British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, among others, are still recovering one year later. Yet little has changed the Karakam-UN high-level pledging conference to support reconstruction efforts in the region following hurricanes Irma and Maria received pledges of over 1.3 billion, but there remains a significant gap between the pledges made and the actual amounts that have been dispersed. While well-intended, we have been let down once again. The Prime Minister assured that St. Lucia will continue to rally for the cause of small-island developing states and middle-income countries. The St. Lucia Tourism Authority has announced the addition of a non-stop flight from Toronto to St. Lucia this fall with Air Canada. The additional Toronto flight operated by Air Canada Rouge commences on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. Air Canada has increased its total frequency to four-weekly flights from Toronto to St. Lucia then commences daily service on December 25 to the island. St. Lucia will also welcome non-stop flights from Montreal starting Friday, December 21 with Air Canada mainline on their brand new 737 MAX aircraft. Air Canada has also extended its season-flying non-stop from Montreal to St. Lucia until April 26, 2019. There has been an extension to the review period for the Government Public Assistance Program. The new deadline is Friday, October 12, 2018. Health's Chevrolet Marius with more. The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment of Development, Sports, Culture and the Local Government has once again undertaken review of clients on the Public Assistance Program for the month of September. The process involves the evaluation of recipients who may either be terminated or their assistance period extended. The cash transfer payment service of the Public Assistance Program is reviewed by annual during the months of March and September. Deputy Director, in the Ministry of Equity and Social Justice, Ms. Tanzia Toussaint stated that participating in the evaluation process improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the social protection cash transfer service. Compliance is very important to the Ministry and to this programme because if it is that your deceased will need to know so that you are off the list. The parents need to work with the children's updated school records and medical records. For the elderly, we need the medical records and this is to determine whether you're in good health. In terms of the children, have they taken all the vaccines? Are they in good health? Are they nutritionally? Are they getting the kind of support? Apart from cash transfer, the welfare department also provides services such as educational assistance, IK assistance, burial assistance and disaster or fire assistance. Quite apart from those who are receiving the cash transfer on a monthly basis, there are persons who walk into the department and it's important for us to say that there are persons who actually walk into the department and even if they're not card holders or beneficiaries but because we offer certain services, we may be able to assist them. Our numbers are beyond 3,500 and these are individuals with about 3,000 families. Clients on the programme are to note that payments will be stopped for individuals who have not complied. The review process has now been extended to Friday, October 12, 2018. At the time of payment, the updated card must be presented to the recipient or someone authorised by him or her. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment, Development, Sports, Culture and the local government, I am Chauvin Marius. This is Nation Beat, still to come. The St Lucia Taiwan Partnership trade show exhibit intangible results and the invigorating traditional sounds of Joseph Ramos. Small household electrical appliances, when faulty, can give rise to big problems. If you have just purchased a small appliance from a store and you are concerned about the safety of the item, an appliance has been at home for some time subjected to wear and tear from regular usage, have it tested by the St Lucia Bureau of Standards. It is better to be safe than sorry. For more information, contact the St Lucia Bureau of Standards at 456-0546 or email SLBS at candw.lc or visit the website at www.slbs.org.lc St Lucia Bureau of Standards, making quality and standards our way of life. The stage is being set for the annual St Lucia Taiwan Partnership Trade Show. Now in its 11th year, the event is presenting more concrete avenues for collaboration among the participating businesses. Anisia Antoine has that story. The Department of Commerce in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of China Taiwan will be hosting the 11th annual St Lucia Taiwan Trade Show. The main objectives of the trade show is to display the local products made in St Lucia and Taiwan and foster trade and networking between the two countries. One added component for this year is that we want to create direct linkages between the local manufacturers, producers of products and services with larger companies here who can serve as potential distributors, retailers for those products so you will have direct meetings and networking sessions happening between buyers and sellers as a means of fostering trade both on the domestic market and internationally. Local participants will be given the opportunity to network with at least five large Taiwan companies who are coming to St Lucia with the explicit intent of forming a partnership. We have businesses that are into furniture production who are into the green energy in terms of developing solar panels and other similar technologies. And you will find that we can complement the businesses that we have on the ground not to compete with those businesses but to complement those businesses. At the end of the day, businesses are about making profits so you will find that there are mutually beneficial opportunities for both the Taiwanese continent as well as the local businesses that they can potentially partner with. This year, the trade show will highlight the arts and creative industries in which local producers will be partnered with hotel boutiques and the vendors association. While persons may be impressed with those products if those products are not on the shelves in your supermarkets in your pharmacies or what have you persons have difficulty accessing those products so the initial demand that they might have or the first impression that is made through the trade show will fill us down or it will fill us down as they don't have good access to those products so that is what we are trying to stem in terms of having the direct meetings and the networking sessions between the buyers and sellers. The event will be held at the Golden Palm event centre in Rodney Heights from November 23rd to the 25th. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Saint Lucia is said to be one of 18 countries participating in the 2018 Caribbean Tourism Organization CTO Youth Congress, scheduled for October 3rd to 5th at the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas. This year's representative is the island's junior minister for tourism, 14-year-old Shine Safery of the Saint Joseph's Convent, winner of the national tourism public speaking competition. She will present on the topic Year of Wellness and Rejuvenation enhancing the Caribbean's tourism product. Structured to mirror an actual CTO Board of Directors meeting, the Youth Congress will host junior ministers and commissioners of tourism from around the region. Saint Lucia also has the distinct honour of hosting the competition in the person of Francis Alexander, winner of the 2017 CTO Youth Congress. The CTO Youth Congress is an integral part of the annual state of the industry conference and is a regional activity involving students between the ages of 14 and 17 from CTO member countries. Its main aim is to stimulate greater awareness and excitement about tourism among young people by allowing them to research various facets of the tourism sector and share their ideas and vision with respect to future directions for Caribbean tourism. Saint Lucia's child care adoption and protection legislation is receiving and deserved attention from lawmakers. A major undertaking of the Human Services Department in the fiscal year is a legislative review. The draft child care protection and adoption bill was presented in Parliament last week. The bill explores issues of child abuse adoption and the functions of family care case workers who deal with child care issues. The director of Human Services, Miss Elizabeth Lewis, applauded this initiative. It's very, very important that the main players, the persons who will be responsible for ensuring that what is in that act is affected properly are the family case workers and the social workers within the Department of Human Services and we found it fitting at this time to ensure that they really get acquainted and immersed in this bill so that they too can execute their jobs effectively. The consultation engaged family care case workers from across the island. We're right now with Human Services. We're doing a review of the child care protection and adoption bill. We have a magistrate who's in with us right now just going through what the bill entails. The idea behind it is to ensure that all the family case workers, the social workers who have to implement it have a full understanding of what the bill will be looking at. So we know how to help the parents. We know how to get what is best for the children out of the bills. So every aspect of it will be looked at. The consultation took place on September 22, 2018 at the Ministry's conference room. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice Empowerment and Development, Sports, Culture and the Local Government, I am Shevra Imarius. The community of Bellevue, the home of icon Joseph Ramopolia came alive on Monday, 1st October. As a cultural hero was celebrated, the event formed part of the Cultural Icon Series beheaded by the Cultural Development Foundation, CDF. The concert in Bellevue culminated activities that included a school's road show which exposed students to the sounds of the icon, heard some highlights of the concert. We will have more on the Cultural Icon Series in a subsequent broadcast. That's Nation Beat. Join us next time as we fill the pulse and heart of our community. I am General Norville.