Former Minister Says Govt’s Plans Still To Be seen.
FORMER Minister for Agriculture, Moses Jn. Baptiste, says he remains in a wait and see mode as far as government’s plans to create opportunities for Saint Lucian farmers in getting a reliable market for their bananas is concerned.
Jn. Baptiste said that while the opportunity would prove beneficial for farmers should the government succeed in its efforts, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and Minister for Agriculture, Ezechiel Joseph, need to furnish more details about those plans.
Chastanet and Joseph visited Morocco, France and the United Kingdom on a recent business trip aimed at attracting a wide range of objectives, including creating marketing opportunities for local farmers.
“I expect them to tell the country whether all of the regulations that are required to ship bananas from Saint Lucia to France, that we would have crossed those hurdles,” Jn. Baptiste said on Tuesday.
Jn. Baptiste said continued focus needs to be placed on the agricultural sector, adding that the previous administration “had done a wonderful job at increasing the contribution of value-added in agriculture to the economic progress of Saint Lucia.”
“I don’t know about the arrangement with Martinique. I try my best not to speak out of turn. The Prime Minister promised that Saint Lucians would ship bananas to Martinique and France. One of the two Ministers for Agriculture continues to say that banana farmers from Saint Lucia will ship bananas to France. I do not know what arrangements they have and so I await,” Jn. Baptiste explained.
During a press briefing last Monday, Chastanet and Joseph explained some of the achievements they were able to net during their three-nation trip, including meeting with French distributors of bananas who cater to grocery stores.
“(We wanted) to identify where we thought the opportunities would be for Saint Lucian bananas in that market,” Chastanet said. “We also worked on a plan moving forward but will not provide a lot or details on that plan because we will be having a debriefing with Winfresh (first).”
While in Morocco, Chastanet said he and Joseph met with government agencies responsible for the fertilizer programme from which Saint Lucia benefits and looked into possible linkages and training in agriculture between the two countries.
Joseph said one of the many concerns for farmers is that of sourcing inputs. He said the Moroccan government remains committed to continue supplying banana farmers with fertilizers to stimulate their productivity. However, finding a reliable market for bananas remains a major headache.
“One of the biggest challenges our farmers are facing is a reliable market, not only for bananas, but all crops and livestock. Based on discussions we have ongoing with the French companies, (we’re trying) to see how we can open up new markets in France,” Joseph said.
However, Jn. Baptiste accused the current administration of using the banana industry as a political football “to twist the minds of hardworking farmers”. He maintained that while the banana industry will never become as buoyant as it was in the 1980s, “we can have a banana industry but one that is very efficient, including moving from four acres per tonne to 20 acres per tonne.”
Jn. Baptiste also expressed concerns about the use of Chlordane, a pesticide used in banana production in Martinique that has had a negative impact on the environment. He said should lands in Saint Lucia be used to produce bananas for the French market, such use might result in harmful effects.
