Focus on agriculture after hurricanes

The main area that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) would be focusing on in relation to providing assistance to those islands which have been devastated by the passage of the hurricanes is on rebuilding the agricultural sector.

This is coming from Sub-Regional Coordinator for the FAO, Lystra Fletcher-Paul who spoke to The Barbados Advocate prior to the start of the lecture to mark World Food Day 2017 under the theme of ‘Change the Future of Migration: Invest in Food Security and Rural Development” which took place yesterday at the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters, Greame Hall, Christ Church.

She said that as it stands right now, the citizens of Dominica have left their homeland to go to neighbouring islands for such things as schooling for their children as well as places to live as they lost their homes while those in Barbuda have gone to Antigua for similar reasons.

“FAO is working right now with Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, especially coming after the disasters that happened. For example for Barbuda, the entire population in Barbuda had to be evacuated. Okay? So they are now migrants in Antigua and in terms of Dominica, we had a large number of Dominicans who are now leaving Dominica and going to the neighbouring islands for schools for their children; they have no homes so they are staying with relatives and some of them are being put up by the church.”

However, the focus would be placed on assisting these persons such as those in the farming communities to get their business back on track so that they can return home and start rebuilding their livelihood.

“So we are now working with the Governments of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda to rebuild the agricultural sector and to build it back better; so we have been able to mobilize about half a million dollars in resources for Dominica to help them to get their agriculture sector back up and running with seeds, with fertilizers, with fencing for the livestock, for the fishing, refrigeration facilities. So we are working with them to see how we can get agriculture back up and running as quickly as possible because Dominica is one of the food baskets for the islands in the north.
Antigua now has no food on the shelves because Dominica can’t provide food. There is a food security issue. So we are working with the Government to try and get them back.” (PJT)