BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “FARMERS attending this year’s Agriculture Annual Review and Planning Meeting will be more involved in the discussions compared to the previous years where they just listen.”
So said Minister of Agriculture Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris in an exclusive interview with SKNVibes.
The Senior Minister indicated that during the meeting, which will be held tomorrow (Mar. 30) at the St. Kitts Marriott Hotel, farmers and other stakeholders would be updated on several actions taken or being contemplated to bring greater support to the farming community.
The theme for the meeting is ‘Achieving Agricultural Impact Through Effective Consultation and Action’ and, according to Dr. Harris, it is self explanatory “because this year’s programme will provide opportunities for farmers to ask questions and receive feedback from the presenters”.
“We are putting a lot of emphasis on the notion of consultation and action because we believe that this is the only way that we are going to get desirable outcome. We don’t want to be directing agricultural policies from the ministry and the department. We want to collaborative approach so that even if we have a vision with respect with this sector, then we want the farmers who are critical to the sector to share the vision and incorporate their own views with our policy formulation and implementation.
“My own view is that throughout the production process, we must engage in consultations with the farmers before they start planting their crops. During the production and harvesting phase, we must have ongoing communication,” Harris said.
The Agriculture Minister also spoke about the structure of the programme which, according to him, “is more unique than in previous years”.
“We have given an abundance of time to hear from the farmers. In the past, we had a lot of presentations and we did not have enough time, in my view, to get effective input and feedback from the farming community. This year, however, we have taken out a number of the presentations that would have been done. For example, from the allied agencies such as CARDI and IICA where people were just telling what they will do.
“I have suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture present its plans and programmes and let the farmers have an opportunity to question, query and to become part of this review so that some of these plans can be amended and adjusted if need be,” Harris explained.
According to a release from the Minister’s office, presentations would be made on the legal framework affecting agriculture. It noted also that other topics up for discussion are Water for Agriculture, Financing for Agriculture, Control of Roaming Animals and Control of Feral Animals (monkeys) and Land Preparation.
Additionally, the opening session will receive a report from the Director of Agriculture, while the feature address will be delivered by Minister Harris.
The release went on to state that members of the diplomatic and consular corps, representatives of international organisations including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the ROC Agriculture Mission, and the local Hotel and Tourism Association (HTA) are expected to attend the one day event.
