BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LOCAL farmers are set to be further empowered with the release of 170 acres of land for agricultural purposes.
In Monday’s (Aug 17) Post-Cabinet briefing, it was revealed that Agriculture Minister Hon. Cedric Liburd had requested the body’s approval for these lands to be made available to the agricultural sector. The designated areas are Wingfield Estate in Old Road, Whites in Cayon and Sir Gilles in Sandy Point.
According to Liburd, 1 470 acres of land were approved for farming during his current ministerial term. SKNVibes contacted Dr. Hermia Morton-Anthony, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in his ministry, for further clarification about the new development.
She informed that most of the lands would be immediately distributed to livestock and crop farmers, and reassured that the move would help to reduce the current backlog in agricultural land applications.
“The Ministry plans to release the lands without delay. As is our normal practice, we’ll keep some in reserve in case of emergencies. This new acreage is the result of a meeting we had with the Ministry of Sustainable Development where we were told there was quite a backlog in the number of qualified farmers who applied for land and were not able to receive any at that time,” Morton-Anthony explained.
“Now that the sugar production has ceased, there are more lands available for diversified agricultural production than ever before. Bearing this in mind, the Ministry went about clearing up matters so that increased land use could be facilitated. These 170 acres should hopefully satisfy those farmers we have on the waiting list,” she added.
The PS reaffirmed her Ministry’s commitment to two of its major goals – empowering local farmers and increasing agricultural production. She encouraged farmers to apply for land through the National Land Sales Agency (NSA), which was established in June to ensure speedy land distribution.
Although the NSA’s initial mandate was to distribute land for residential use, Morton-Anthony revealed it had widened its scope to consider land applications for commercial and agricultural purposes as well.
