The Dominica Bureau of Standards (DBOS) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have donated farming equipment to nine selected farmers on the island. The equipment which includes hand gloves, waterproof hats, googles, respirators, rubber boots, and farm management books will enable recipients to undertake acceptable agricultural practices.
The protective and storage equipment were given to the farmers under the Dominica Good Agriculture Practices (DOM-GAP) initiative. The programme is a national initiative aimed at putting Dominica at the forefront of agricultural production in terms of quality, quantity and safety for international standards. The effort includes a farm certification programme where commercial farmers are trained in cultivating standard crops for local consumption and international markets.
Median LaRocque, DBOS’s new director, said Dominica’s farmers will have their farm produce certified fit for global markets after they implement farming standards that meet the requirements set forth by DOM-GAP and GLOBAL-GAP.
The ultimate goal is to enable Dominica’s fresh produce to become internationally competitive through the adoption of innovative farm practices that incorporate concepts of globally accepted good agriculture practices within the framework of commercial agriculture production for long term improvement and sustainability.
Median LaRocque: Director of DBOS
According to LaRocque, the DOM-GAP initiative will focus on farmers cultivating plantains, dasheen, hot pepper and ginger among other farm produce. Farming systems will be analyzed and certified as conforming to global standards.
One of the lucky recipients who had her farming equipment destroyed during Hurricane Maria, Connie Telemaque, thanked the donors for their good gesture.
“These gears and equipment will surely go a long way in assisting us to do our farming activities in a manner that is safer to ourselves and farm workers,” Telemacque said. “These will definitely put us in a safe position to be certified growers.”
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