Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture is continuing to provide support to Farmers across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Media Release from the Ministry of Agriculture says the support will be targeting recovery from the impacts of both COVID-19 and Drought 2020.

The Release says that Drought 2020 has been recorded as one of the worst droughts experienced in this country in the last fifty years, impacting on both crop and livestock farmers.

An assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture on the impact of Drought 2020 on the agriculture sector places damage and loss at EC$16,000,000.00.

To compound an already challenging period, COVID-19 has caused uncertainty in farm workers’ timetables and interrupted trade; thus impacting on both production and productivity. Further, farmers and traders have witnessed increased restrictions at regional and international borders, and delays in the supply of inputs as a result of impacted shipping lines.

Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar noted that the government continues to deliver vital support to farmers in a bid to further strengthen this critical production sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He says the Farmers, Fishers, Traffickers and Technicians have made them proud, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines can boast of its food security to the world.

The registration for the Farmers’ COVID-19/Drought 2020 recovery support continues on Monday, 10th August, 2020.

Registration will begin at 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at thirty Registration Centres across the country. Registration closes on Friday, 21st August, 2020.

Farmers are asked to register in person with both a National and Farmer’s Identification Cards.

SOURCE: National Broadcasting Corporation