Ten farmers from the Latille Farmers Group are thankful after each received a 450-gallon water tank and one roll of drip line, courtesy of the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM).
The brief handover ceremony was held at the Saint Lucia Network of Rural Women Producers (Micoud Cluster) building in Anse Ger, Micoud, on Wednesday morning, September 11, 2024. In attendance were H.E. Peter Chia-Yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia; Hon. Jeremiah Norbert, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities and Parliamentary Representative for Micoud North; Mr. Daniel Lee, Chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission; Ms. Adeline Eudovic, Project Coordinator; Mr. Eric Chen, Production Specialist at the Taiwan Technical Mission; Mr. Edward Wilson, Production Officer at the Taiwan Technical Mission; and members of the Latille Farmers Group.
H.E. Peter Chia-Yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, commended Hon. Jeremiah Norbert, Minister with responsibility for Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities and Parliamentary Representative for Micoud North, for his tireless efforts in providing opportunities for farmers. He reassured those in attendance that the Government of Taiwan will continue to provide essential assistance to farmers to ensure that higher yields are realized.
Ambassador Chen recalled that, during the first half of this year, the Taiwan Technical Mission did some evaluation in Ti Rievere area. Throughout the evaluation, he said, the Taiwan Technical Mission was accompanied by several farmers highly dedicated to local community development.
“Their aspiration for a better community is touching, and their advice and guidance were valuable for us,” Ambassador Chen explained. “In order to express our gratitude to their company, today we would like to present some water tanks and drip lines as the token of our appreciation. I hope farmers can use these materials to achieve better results in their work.”
Ambassador Chen added: “Today we are really happy to accompany Hon. Minister Norbert to provide tanks and drip lines. This is something that we’ll try to promote in Saint Lucia to help farmers get more produce from their farms. As always, my Government – the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) – will always work with the Government of Saint Lucia to support local farmers in their endeavours.”
Hon. Jeremiah Norbert, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities and Parliamentary Representative for Micoud North, thanked Ambassador Chen and the Taiwan Technical Mission team for always supporting initiatives that benefit Saint Lucians. He commended the farmers for their hard work, saying every effort will be made to support them, especially as achieving food security and reducing the food import bill face many challenges.
“To the farmers, who have really been the backbone of this community and the driving force, we know the challenges that you endure, especially in the (era) of climate change,” Hon. Norbert said. “Things have changed drastically: you really cannot tell when there will be rain and when there will be sunshine. It has become very difficult to plan ahead. Now that you have a water tank and drip line, these can really assist you in terms of collection and storage of water.”
Ms. Adeline Eudovic, Project Coordinator, said the equipment will boost efforts in the “Enhancement of the Efficiency of Production-Distribution Supply Chains in the Fruit and Vegetable Sector Project”, commonly known as the “Seven Crops Project. She noted that, after meeting with farmers and learning about their challenges, it became clear that some form of intervention was essential for farmers who have existing communal systems. Eudovic said the equipment will help alleviate many of the challenges farmers face in irrigating their crops, including using the water tanks for rainwater harvesting. Farmers in need of additional equipment can also benefit from subsidized rates offered by the Taiwan Technical Mission during its quarterly sales events.
She also expressed gratitude to Mr. Eric Chen, Production Specialist at the Taiwan Technical Mission, and Mr. Edward Wilson, Production Officer at the Taiwan Technical Mission, for their outstanding support to farmers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Virgil Burke, President of Latille Farmers Group, said his members are appreciative to the Taiwan Technical Mission for their continued generosity, noting that every level of support assists them in a meaningful way.
“On behalf of the Latille Farmers Group, we would like to extend our profound gratitude for the Taiwan Technical Mission’s support to the farmers of Saint Lucia, especially the farmers of Latille,” Burke said in the vote of thanks. “We know that this is not the end. We still have the faith and know that you are there at our side, and once you are there with your support, we can guarantee you that we can go a very long way in achieving the objectives of the Department of Agriculture and Taiwan Technical Mission.”