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Contact:
Rose Marie Harris
Friday, November 16, 2007 – The Post-Hurricane Dean Banana Rehabilitation
and Enhancement Project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, is into its third month and is progressing smoothly. To date over
12,000 bags of fertilizer and approximately 10,000 litres of herbicide have been
distributed to about 1200 growers. A further 15,000 bags of fertilizer should be
distributed towards the end of this week.
Financial support to the tune of $1.6 million is presently being paid out to
1383 farmers under a programme of assistance for chopping, supplying and
replanting banana fields affected by the storm.
The Ministry wishes to reiterate that the calculation for the financial
assistance being provided was based on the farm acreage affected by the storm
and on grower’s production volume in the year 2006. This approach reflects the
Ministry’s intention to provide a relatively higher level of support to the more
productive and efficient producers.
The entire cost of leaf spot control, until February 2008, is being borne by the
project at a cost of nearly $4 million dollars.
The banana industry over the years has seen many initiatives that have sought to
restore production after some kind of disaster. Included would have been the
European Union funded Production Recovery Programme (PRP) and other programmes
that followed storms such as Lillie and Debbie.
When compared to those programmes, this current initiative is anticipated to
have a greater impact on the stream of production that follows because it goes
directly to farms in the form of a huge injection of inputs such as fertilizer
and pesticides and financial support for labour intensive activities.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries wishes to reemphasize its
commitment to the agricultural sector and the banana industry in particular and
look forward to the support of all in repositioning the sector in this very
competitive global environment.
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