With assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and regional and international governments and agencies, the Saint Lucia Government was able to rehabilitate farms in several locations.

Minister for Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries, Co-operatives and Rural Development, Hon. Moses Jn Baptiste said that the recovery of the agriculture sector last year, following the 2013 Christmas Eve trough is encouraging.

The minister’s statements were made during the 2014 annual review of the agriculture sector that highlighted the achievements of the various divisions within the Ministry of Agriculture.

“The year 2014 was a challenging but exciting year,” he said. “We started 2014 with all our woes as a result of the Christmas Eve trough in 2013. At the beginning of 2014 it was estimated that Saint Lucia’s agriculture would lose about 10 percent of its output. The study that was done suggested that we would have a very challenging time in our recovery. But by mid 2014 we saw the farmers, the fishers and all those involved in the sector rebounding in a way that made us proud.”

With assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Saint Lucia Government was able to rehabilitate farms in several locations, construct drainage systems and assist farmers who had lost some of their tools. A subsidy was provided to commercial plantain and banana farmers who showed resilience by rehabilitating their fields, and the government was able to distribute fertilizers with Morocco’s assistance.

“The Prime Minister also decided to allocate the portfolio of cooperatives to the Ministry of Agriculture,” Minister Jn Baptiste said. “We were very pleased with that development and immediately embarked on a program to engage the cooperatives so that they are the engine for growth in the agricultural sector.”

View the full 2014 Agricultural Sector Review.