Contact:
Prime Minister's Press Secretary
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - Four important gatherings of local
agriculture stakeholders are scheduled to be convened here in St. Lucia over the
next few weeks.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, in collaboration with
WIBDECO (The Windward Islands Banana Development and Exporting Company) and IICA
(The Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in Agriculture), will conduct
four national multi-venue conferences on the transformation and modernization of
the agriculture sector and rural enterprises in St. Lucia.
The conferences will be conducted in four major rural centers of St. Lucia –
Babonneau, Dennery, Vieux-Fort and Soufriere.
The first of these four one-day meetings takes place on Thursday, November 23rd
2006, at the Babonneau Human Resource /Multipurpose Centre, with the second
taking place at the IRDC, La Caye, Dennery, on Wednesday, 29th November 2006.
Rural groups, community groups, producer associations, farmer and fisher groups,
agro-industrial enterprises, agro-related entities, and individual farmers and
fishers in the northern areas have been invited to participate in the first
conference.
Agriculture stakeholders in the central and southern districts have been invited
to the second conference.
A draft national policy and strategic plan for the agriculture sector, will be
unveiled by the Ministry of Agriculture at each of these conferences and
conference participants will be presented with a number of project initiatives
and investment opportunities generated by the Plan.
