Dominica’s New Agriculture Minister Reginald Austrie announces plans to undertake a “Meet the Farmers Tour”. Austrie made this announcement during the Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development (AID) Bank’s Annual General Meeting at the Goodwill Parish Hall yesterday Wednesday morning.
He said, “Very shortly we will be embarking on a Meet the Farmers Tour which will primarily comprise of taking your telephone numbers and giving you my telephone number”. He stated that this new initiative by the ministry will help in creating direct contact with the Agriculture Minister, so as to ensure that the needs of the farmers will be delivered on time. Austrie added, “During the next few hours I will be meeting with the various sectors and hoping that as early as Tuesday next week, I can bring recommendations to Cabinet. If Cabinet approves them within the next week, you will hear about the changes we intend to make, in terms of greater efficiency at the level of the Ministry, and on the farm”. Austrie, who was very recently named Deputy Prime Minister, a portfolio for which there is no provision in Dominica’s constitution. However, he contends that structural and administrative changes are required within the Ministry of Agriculture. He stated, “I want to say to you as the new Minister for Agriculture, having spent only a few days in the ministry, and still trying to find my way around it, one thing is clear if we are to succeed in agriculture, is that there has to be some administrative and structural changes to the ministry”. Austrie said “Farmers will have to be at the forefront of championing our food security situation; but government is concerned about the pace of disbursement of funds to key sectors, by the AID Bank. He added, “We are therefore concerned that we have not been able to make more progress in ensuring that the funds made available by the government for on-lending to key sectors, are not moving as quickly as we anticipated, and in this period of rebuilding our country, the bank has to be strategic, practical and accommodating while it is being careful”.
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