The Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security, is providing free access to government lands for agricultural purposes. Young farmers across Dominica are encouraged to apply since the government lands will be turned into estate farms for the cultivation of exotic crops.
Success applicants will have 2-3 acres of arable farmlands assigned to them by the Lands and Surveys Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, and these can be used to plant bell pepper, cantaloupe, mushrooms, and other foreign crops which are usually imported into Dominica at exorbitant prices.
In some cases, a group of young farmers can collaborate to jointly cultivate an assigned estate farm, and this will ensure greater participation and more rewarding crop harvests. Agriculture Minister Fidel Grant said the programme is carried out in partnership with the Chinese Agricultural Mission.
We have acquired the land, we have some preparation to do but; we are going to tackle it as an estate type of farm. You will find a group of young people, who would be owners of the estate and would be working to produce these specialized crops. We would be providing the technical aspect that they need. We are not just going to give it to them; we would work with them until they have become established farmers.
Fidel Grant: Minister of Agriculture
The agriculture minister noted that people can no longer complain of having no farmlands since the government has already identified arable farmlands that could be given away for free. Interested individuals only need to apply with the Lands and Surveys Division to have acres of lands assigned to them.
Meanwhile, Grant also stated that the Agriculture Ministry has written to the World Bank to modify the criteria for accessing the DEAL-CRP programme so that every eligible Dominican can benefit from it. He said the World Bank released $67 million for the programme and that farmers should fill out an Expression of Interest form and submit to their agricultural extension officer for processing to benefit from the programme.
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