The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is investing heavily in agricultural infrastructure over the coming months, as part of a broader strategy to bolster national food security and reduce reliance on desalinated water for agricultural use.
The announcement came from Minister for Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Hon. Anthony Smith Jr., who outlined the scope of the initiative.
“We are now investing in the Ministry of Agriculture. We are buying an additional two excavators, a bulldozer, a front-wheel loader, a backhoe, and some dump trucks. When the Ministry gets all this equipment, we can really ramp up what we’re doing in regards to road preparation and dam construction…. What we have been doing is that we have been identifying key areas where we have good water flow, where we can build some mega dams, which is intended to help our farmers. We are also trying to work on not just the roads that we drive on every day, but the roads for our farmers, so farmers can have easy access to their farms,” Minister Smith stated.
The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has also granted special privileges to the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate the timely delivery of these infrastructure projects.
“The government has also given the Ministry of Agriculture permission to carry out our own mining for construction material. As we acquire this equipment, we can do our own mining, speed up the process of fixing agricultural roads, and continue with the building of dams,” Minister Smith stated.
According to the Agriculture Minister, improvements to feeder roads and dam infrastructure are expected to result in significant progress toward building a strong agricultural foundation, paving the way for greater private sector investment in the sector.
Leveraging a CARICOM Development Fund grant, supplemented by further government funding, the Ministry has secured a substantial fleet of modern machinery to enhance its operational capacity. The government views these developments as essential to building climate resilience, empowering farmers, and securing the nation’s agro-economic future.
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Poor you.
If I were you I would migrate somewhere there are no Antiguans.
The shame and disgrace you have brought on yourself and the people who voted for you.
You are a total disgrace, that everytime I see you you keep reminding me that it was because of you why we are still under the financial stress created by the wicked ABLP.
Looking forward to this chapter! Progress is a must!!!
Congratulations Harold Lovell!!!
Job well done.
You have forced Gaston to give Anthony “Babyface Judas ” Smith his tongue back.
He is no longer as comfortable as he was.
All attention is now going to be focused on agriculture and All Saints West.
Well lets see how closely Gaston will keep “Babyface Judas” Smith when he realizes that he cannot beat Lovell.
We will all gladly appreciate every injection j to tge agriculture sector.
We will welcome every bit of infrastructural improvement in the All Saints West constituency.
However we do not want a traitor to represent us anymore.
“Babyface Judas ” must go.
Harold Lovell is the man for All Saints West
It looks like Anthony ‘The UPP Deserter’ Smith’s guilty conscious still seems to be troubling he.
Because in all my years of following politics and politicians, I’ve never come across a Member of Parliament making so many promises and ACTUALLY wanting to carry them out for the benefit of voters.
AM I DREAMING? WHAT AH SOMETING!!!
There’s very apt Caribbean saying for Anthony ‘Judas Smith’s continued guilt laden promises to his constituents in All Saints West, especially when so many of them keep on mentioning his desertion from the UPP, where maybe there’s some truth behind it:
“All mout’ nu set fi tell di same lie”
Anthony Smith stop blinking so much when doing public speaking.. you come across as a liar but then again the jury is out on that… I have no respect for you turncoat…
I am happy to see someone so eager to see this sector grow. While we cannot move away from tourism we should embrace this sector as it is a potential money maker for the country. the bigger the investment and output from farmers the lesser our food import bill will be
We should brace both agriculture and manufacturing together. Everything we use and consume comes out of agriculture and manufacturing. I know that we don’t have much natural resources like Africa and other countries; however, what we grow can be manufactured into finished products. For example, we grow tomatoes which can manufactured into tomatoes paste and ketchup. Other crops like Mangoes, coconut, sorrel, tamarind, etc…can be manufactured into several finished products. We wasted a lot of crops during it seasonal especially tomatoes, mangoes and cucumbers. Cucumbers can be manufactured into pickles. Even though they would be small quantities manufactured, we can do it.
Other things, like too much of our rich prime agricultural lands have been destroyed and turned into housing. It is time we make our housing projects into uprising three or four storage building’s complex.
This is exactly the kind of investment we need! Food security is a matter of national importance, and by improving our agricultural infrastructure, we are taking a huge step towards self-sufficiency.
Finally, a Minister with the courage to bring this vision to fruition(pun intended)! Food security is a must and any extras can be exported to other caribbean islands or even farther afield.
Finally, some real investment in our farmers! This is exactly what Antigua and Barbuda needs.
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