Gov’t ramping up education efforts on agriculture
The government will soon be ramping up its public education efforts regarding agricultural matters in the territory.
This is according to Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley, who recently announced that there are plans to build a reservoir at Paraquita Bay to support farmers in the area.
At the time, the Premier expressed satisfaction that the Food Security and Sustainability Act, 2022 received royal assent.
“We now officially have a new legal framework within which to advance agriculture. Now that the Act is law, we are moving hastily to establish the Agriculture and Fisheries Authority to manage the sector as stated in the Act,” Premier Wheatley said at a recent press conference.
The territory’s leader described this as another important step being taken to advance agriculture and noted that in the weeks ahead, Cabinet will approve an official process that will provide farmers with the legal certainty they require to continue to confidently farm the land in that area.
The government also recently approved a Schedule of Additional Provisions (SAP) that the Premier said will fund the construction of the reservoir at Paraquita Bay as well as equipment to pump water from its wells.
When asked whether the government would be conducting any public education campaigns about this, the Premier noted that the bill has a lot of new information that persons need to be made aware of.
“We’re certainly going to, in combining with the the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and our Government Information Service, make sure that persons know about this new Act that has been assented to and also all of the other initiatives that we are doing in agriculture and fisheries,” the Premier said.
Dr Wheatley acknowledged that water has been a ‘vexing concern’ for farmers and said he wanted to let farmers know exactly what is taking place to be able to rectify the situation.
In the meantime, the Premier also advised that moves were being made to formalise the process of issuing land leases to farmers at Paraquita Bay.
These steps, Dr Wheatley said, will improve the ability of the territory’s hardworking farmers to produce food for the people, especially as prices continue to rise due to inflation.
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Talking blues
Much ado about nothing!
There is not a Belonger in the Territory going to work to grow food or catch fish. They will bring in slave labor from down island, charge them for a work permit, steal half their pay and then the government take some when they send it home. Who dares to say these words aren’t true?
Isn’t there an underutilized desalination plant at the beginning of the road? Why do they need a reservoir if the plant is putting out water 24/7/365?
We need to slow down with this work permit foolishness its practically a perpetuation indentured servitude. It degrades the standard of certain occupations as the bosses are used to people that take licks. Those days are over… what are we really doing with this system??
Very few and only experts should be imported for this agriculture industry. let the farmers pick up a book, go on online, or take a course to gain education and hire labor locally, college & high school seniors are always in search of employment.
Problem comes when we dont even have a public library.
Why should a person be imported for, for example soil preparation, artificial pollination, breeding & cultivar selection in relation to the farm… when a farmer or employee can go to the well funded public library, or take a course online, learn about it, and implement it. Research is integral to modern farming.
The more people we import naturally more people need to be fed…
Why the a** you think the Labour code was started in BVI, Egypt, USA, uk, and any other progressive nation. The problem is importation of illiterates like you.
Why you need to bring in labor you ask? Because you yourself, your family and every other Belonger in the Territory is too lazy to do manual work. You rather make money off the backs of the offspring off slaves that actually work. Remember, the BVI received the slaves that nobody else wanted. The left over useless just like today.
I don’t see how a set of law helping anyone to plant something in pari or any other place. The 80’s come and the trust companies show the population how not to go work in the field. Some expat were working the field , no water for years, when agri day come around that one week government give water after then nothing, nothing for months. When is the projection for the start and finish of this resivor
The first preference is the native, but the don’t want o work the land , they want the expat to work the land and they receive the money, and pay the expat 6$ per hour in this’day and age the slave attitude continue. How many pieces of land there full of bush that was given to natives, not one thing plant that can feed a village much more this country.
Since Irma the government best is to come up with the laws to lease land. That land was given for the people to do agri culture not for the government to see how much revenue the can try to get out of those old folk, yes old folks are the ones who are spending their retired days doing something there. No coconut trees were replanted, no big trees were replaced,this place get so hot I feel to contribute to climate change.
To sustain this country the agri ministry still has ot met with the farms of this country and no five year plans to sustain the industry has been set, to discuss with the farmers.
For years bad, toxic food is brought into this country and no ministry is asking the citizen for all to plant fruit and vegetables. Most people get sick and cancer is on the rise and there is no trace of what is going on , but now you want to charge farmers lease fee.
All this arguing in this chat, at end of all this are the locals going to do job and function as a team or just doing it for a pay. Some of these same bloggers dont know a jack foot about planting.
The same wicked lady who believes paraquita bay is theirs, any down island person up there planting is a problem to she. When she has stolen land on land in paraquita bay, government need to stop the wicked. All you keep hearing she of all saying that she work 40 years in government………doing what farming, stealing and giving breaking laws, come to my island trust none of this would happen….their planting would be behind bars.
Your words aren’t true…. go to Carrot Bay.