Government acts to secure future of banana farmers
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Government acts to secure future of banana farmers |
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Contact: Shannon Lebourne
Friday 1 July 2011 – In a move which has been described as historic by banana industry stalwarts, the government of Saint Lucia has delivered on its commitment to acquire the shares of the Saint Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) in the regional export company Winfresh.
The acquisition of the twenty percent shares in Winfresh at a cost of $EC26, 266,000.00 was secured by government when the need for intervention came into focus after the Saint Lucia Banana Corporation went into voluntary liquidation.
Agriculture Minister Honourable Ezekiel Joseph says the decision was taken to protect the interest of Saint Lucia.
“We believe that the farmers of Saint Lucia have worked hard to develop SLBC. It would have been unfair for them if the government of Saint Lucia did not give support to secure the shares of that company in the interest of agriculture in Saint Lucia. “We have said in Cabinet we are not going to give any single company these assets but we are going to place them in a holding company where every farmer whether banana farmers or farmers in crop production would benefit from the dividends paid by Winfresh.”
In acquiring the new shares, the government of Saint Lucia has effectively added to its 12.5 percent shares to a total of 32.5 percent shares in Winfresh.
Minister Joseph says government is eagerly looking forward to acquire 177 acres of prime agricultural property in the Dennery Valley known as the Ramju Lands.
“Soon we will be engaging the liquidators to negotiate a price for these lands. The reason why government is again trying to secure these lands is to ensure that the lands in the Dennery Valley remain for agricultural purposes. I think it is important especially for food security and by so doing to secure the future of the people presently farming the lands down there.”
Along with the pending acquisition of the Ramju Lands in Dennery, the new shares acquired by the Government of Saint Lucia will be put into the Saint Lucia Agricultural Holding Company.
The company’s mandate is to manage the acquired asset of the SLBC in an manner that protects the interest of the agricultural community and the entire nation. |
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