Farmers earmarked to receive assistance from government

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 – Farmers who have been affected by the ongoing drought will receive support from government to increase their production levels in coming months.

Agriculture Minister Honourable Ezechiel Joseph says, government is sympathetic to the hardships encountered by farmers as a result of the drought which has begun to bottom out.

He says government views the support as imperative at this time.

Minister Joseph says he expects the prime minister to announce the support package to the agriculture sector, when he presents the 2010/2011 national budget later this month.

“Our farmers have suffered a lot because of the drought. I still call it a drought because although we are getting some rain, there has been no positive impact on the agriculture sector just yet,” Minister Joseph said.

“I understand the situation of our farmers because they have invested and unfortunately agriculture is susceptible to the vagaries of climate change which has affected our farmers. We are putting together a project document so we can engage the minister for finance who has agreed in principle to see how we can provide some short-term assistance to address the problems farmers are now facing.”

Meantime, Minister Joseph says government recognises the importance of agriculture to the local economy and national development, and therefore will continue to make the necessary investments and intervention to promote sustainable growth within the industry.

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