St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Road to Recovering Food Sector, But Still Needs External Help – Agriculture Minister
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture Press Release) – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has been recovering from the strong impact that the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in April had on its agricultural sector, but it still needs the help and solidarity of the countries of the Americas and the rest of the world.
This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labor of this Caribbean country, Saboto Caesar, in an interview given to the Brazilian TV Channel AgroMais.
“These are definitely challenging times, with many changes for our people and for our agricultural sector, which is central to the country. One of the biggest impacts was the excessive ash fall in areas used for food production, some of which lost 100% of their vegetable production,” said the minister.
Mr. Caesar also explained that the work of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) was of great importance in securing the support of organizations and governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, and expressed his gratitude for the solidarity received.
The volcano had its first major eruption on April 9, followed by 32 other eruptions. Some 30,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes, most of them farmers, since the land closest to the volcano is used mainly for agricultural production. Today, the social situation is still delicate, and the authorities are concerned about the approach of the hurricane season which could further complicate the scenario.
Although there have been no new eruptions recently, the minister explained that the ashes fell on the slopes of the mountains and, every time it rains heavily they are washed away towards the valleys and crop fields, thereby deteriorating lands that until now had not been affected.
Read more at: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
Source: CARICOM TODAY