On Friday, March 19, farmers in Saint Lucia collectively received a total of 190 1000-gallon water storage tanks, manufactured in Saint Lucia by Brice and Company Ltd.
The water tanks were made available to the Ministry of Agriculture via the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP), for distribution farmers island-wide to help ensure sustainable food production during the dry season.
The initiative is part of the Saint Lucia Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan. Pillar number 6 of the plan focuses on Disaster Risk Mitigation and Climate Change. Policy intervention number 32, under this pillar, calls for the provision of 800 water tanks to vulnerable communities and essential public services to ensure water security in the event of a natural disaster.
Already, over 382 water tanks were presented to local churches, NGO’s and service organizations in 2020, to bolster their resilience in responding to disasters.
Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Ezechiel Joseph made the first presentation of 2021 to Ms. Kenisha Arnaud, a young female farmer from La Bourne, Monchy, who runs a modest but successful vegetable and poultry farming business. The community of La Bourne has had a long history of persistent water issues, severely affecting farmers of this community. The minister also called on the DVRP for even more assistance in providing water tanks. He said the 190 provided will only whet the appetite of the demand by farmers for increased water resilience as the ministry advances its food security agenda.
In expressing her gratitude for the presentation Ms. Arnaud opined that being selected as a young female farmer gives her confidence that the government supports young farmers. She said the tank will come in handy in her farming operations and will hopefully allow her to increase production.
Also present at the handing over ceremony was the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Barrymore Felicien; Director of Agricultural Services, Dr. Auria King-Cenac; Chief Economist in the Department of Economic Development, Transport and Civil Aviation, Mr. Tommy Descartes; and other government officials.
