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Mr Llewellyn Clarke, seated left, signs the loan agreement form. Looking on are Hon Livingston Herbert (sitting right), and standing are Mr Augustine Merchant (right) and Mr Pearlievan Wilkin. |
Charlestown Nevis (June 1, 2005) -- Farming in Nevis has received a shot in the arm from the Jamaica-based Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), which has given grants of US$5,000 each to the Nevis Growers Cooperative and Nevis Agro Processors Cooperative.
The grants have been offered through the CFNI Small Funds Programme. On Tuesday, at a function held at the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters at Prospect, president of the Nevis Growers Cooperative, Mrs Emontine Thompson, received a cheque of US$5,000 through Mr Augustine Merchant, IICAs representative to St. Kitts and Nevis.
At the same function, Mr Merchant announced that the Nevis Agro Processors had been selected for funding from among the 82 projects submitted from across the Caribbean for a grant of US$5,000 from the CFNI Small Funds Programme. President of the Nevis Agro Processors Cooperative, Mr Llewellyn Clarke, signed an agreement between his organisation and the CFNI. A cheque will be sent to them shortly.
The function, which was chaired by the Director of Cooperatives, Mr Pearlievan Wilkin, was also attended by the Junior Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Hon Mr Livingston Herbert, Assistant Secretary Mr Stephen Jones, and the Director of Agriculture, Mr Samuel Powell.
In his brief address, Junior Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Hon Livingston Herbert, said that IICA and CFNI are institutions that seek to assist in the transformation and diversification of agriculture. He added that he recognised the partnership between the institutions and the Nevisian farmers and the benefits that Nevisians are experiencing.
The government does not have all the resources to satisfy all our needs, and so we have to seek assistance from international and regional organisations, pointed out Mr Herbert. He called on farmers to diversify and add value to their products, which he said was absolutely important, rather than always being dependent on the government.
The cheque for Nevis Growers is to assist in procuring drip equipment, which will help them to produce more food, to ensure that Nevis cuts down in the high importation of foods and also to ensure that local communities are healthy by eating more nutritious stuff.
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Mrs Emontine Thompson (left) receives the US$5,000 cheque from Minister Herbert. |
According to Mr Merchant, the US$5,000 for the Nevis Agro Processors is to ensure that they procure some small equipment, which is going to make them more efficient in their operations.
We at IICA are quite pleased with the progress, which the agro processors have made. I would like to thank the Department of Agriculture for the collaborative efforts, which we have had in this respect, commented the IICA representative.
Mr Merchant explained that the Director of CFNI, Dr Fitzroy Henry, had approached IICAs Director for the Caribbean Dr Arlington Chesney, saying that they had funds for poverty alleviation in the member states.
Noted Mr Merchant: During the discussions, it was felt that because IICA has offices in all the Caribbean countries (we have offices in 34 countries throughout the Americas), that CFNI would gain a lot more leverage if this was to be done in collaboration with IICA and a memorandum of understanding was signed and that IICA would assist in the implementation of the project.
He told members of the two cooperatives, who had come to witness the handing over of the cheque and the signing of the agreement, that he had letters from the CFNI, authorising him to ensure that the two projects were done in accordance with the conditions, which are stipulated in the contract.
