Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar says there has been a natural disaster in the agricultural sector “at every turn, at recovery” since 2010.
He told the July 18 debate of the EC$136 million supplementary budget in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl on July 1 that from 2010 to 2020, the focus was on “rebuilding post the removal of trade preferences”.
“… 2020 to 2024, going on to 2025, it can be classified as a period of natural disaster recovery for the agricultural sector,” Caesar told lawmakers.
“… not only did we have disruptions in the supply chains globally because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the freak storm of 2020 where we lost significant acreages of plantains and bananas and other crops, but then [in April 2021] we had the 32 explosive eruptions of La Soufriere dumping significant quantities of ash across a country, impacting negatively on our soils.”
Caesar said Tropical Storm Bret in June 2023 also impacted the agricultural sector.
He said the government helped farmers who had planted crops when the volcano erupted.
“… and when persons were about to reap their plantains and their bananas nine months after, we had a drought,” Caesar said.
“Persons were asked and assisted, and they replanted, and then they were impacted by Tropical Storm Brett, it’s almost at every turn, at recovery, there is a natural disaster,” he said, adding that the country saw in 2020 the worst drought in 50 years.
“And the first half of this year –January, February, March, April and May — we had a significant drought in the country,” the agriculture minister stated.
“And what is interesting, whilst our technicians were out there … doing the assessment for damage and loss from the drought, we had a hurricane. So, there are some persons, some farmers, who lost everything in the first few months and were just awaiting a break and this is what we have to contend with.”
Caesar said he has seen the impact of Hurricane Matthew on Jeremie, Haiti, of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the British Virgin Islands and Dorian on the Bahamas.
He noted also that St. Vincent and the Grenadines was impacted by Hurricane Thomas on Oct. 30, 2010.
“But what I witnessed there in the Grenadines — and again, for those of us who followed closely the presentation by the Honorable Member for the Grenadines — really it is beyond imagination.”
The minister welcomed the EC$12 million in income support to farmers and fishers and the EC$800,000 allocated to buy and distribute agricultural produce to emergency shelters.
The country gone from blessed to blight under the wickedness of what we have for government in svg along with all the blood that are being spilled unabated.
When you came into government svg were feeding itself and other countries now under your watch it’s now a major food importer and can’t feed itself such a great job you doing.
Don’t know how you guys can talk the way you talk and sleep at night.
Is it possible to build water tanks on the river routes to save some water for drought periods? Most rivers just empty out into the sea and that water can become useful. Saboto have your people visit all farming communities to see if such a plan can be implemented. There is no reason to allow that water to flow into the sea and complain of drought later.
What is happening to your agricultural plan to get the youths involved?