23rd October 2019
A Broader Horizon for Black Bay Farmers
By Export St Lucia
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PRESS RELEASE - Agriculture continues to be an important livelihood in rural communities in Saint Lucia. For this reason during the past year, Export Saint Lucia has been placing enormous focus on the sector to improve rural livelihoods and the economy. In that regard, Export Saint Lucia has taken an interest in the Black Bay Farmers’ Cooperative and recently signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with them to help build capacity.
CEO of Export Saint Lucia Ms. Sunita Daniel has emphasized that it is an opportunity to broaden the horizons for the farmers and Saint Lucia by extension. Ms. Daniel said, “We know that there is a tremendous amount of agricultural production in the country and when we go out into external markets, we see that there is an increase in demand for various agricultural produce. So what we’re going to do is really focus on sharing that information, help in building the capacity of the Black Bay farmers, so they could reach these export markets, which will give them a way of improving rural livelihoods, and increasing their income.”
President of the Black Bay Farmers’ Cooperative, Mr. Earlike Sadoo said that the partnership would give farmers a much-needed sense of security. He added, “It’s a step forward for Black Bay farmers. Right now, if everything goes according to plan the Black Bay farmers would be able to export agricultural produce. What this does for the farmers is give them a sense of reassurance. Knowing that there is a market out there, they can increase production without any reservation.”
General Manager of the Laborie Cooperative Credit Union, Mr. Lucius Ellevic said, “the move is a welcomed one and it is in keeping with building a strong community economy. We think that if Export Saint Lucia can have Black Bay farmers to be export ready and also give them the avenue to access these external markets, that would cause a greater amount of production and much more returns for our farmers.”
There was firm belief among the parties present during the signing of the MOU that with Export Saint Lucia identifying external markets for farmers, more individuals will be encouraged to get involved in the Agricultural Sector, hence curbing the unemployment rate and driving economic activity.
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