Two motions passed in the Senate to benefit farmers

9 June 2021, ST. GEORGE’S: On Tuesday 8 June 2021, Senator the Honourable Roderick St. Clair presented two motions in the Senate. 

The first motion: “that the activities and projects items presented in the now approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Fiscal Year 1st January to 31st December 2021 be presented in a quarterly timeline to improve planning, implementation and monitoring.” 

After rigorous debate, this motion was temporarily withdrawn to facilitate an amended version for future tabling. 

The second motion contained two parts: “that the Minister for Agriculture be caused to act immediately in accordance with the powers vested in him under Section 4 of the Agriculture Compensation Act of 1995 to review and update the Crop Compensation Schedule of 1995 so that farmers can be justly compensated when they suffer crop loss or damage” and “that section 4 of the act be modified to protect our farmers’ investments by specifically seeking a time by which the Crop Compensation Schedule shall be amended instead of relying on when the Minister considers it expedient to do so.” 

This motion was passed. Senator St. Clair sought Senate support to review and update the Crop Compensation Schedule which was last updated in 1995. This review also recommends that crops not on the current list, such as soursop, dragon fruit and pineapple, are to be added to the list. It was further recommended that the review should be done at least every 3-5 years. 

A motion presented on Wednesday, 2 June “that Government reviews the existing agreement including the fiscal incentives with the Caribbean Agro Industries Limited such that farmers would be able to get more affordable feed for their livestock” was passed.

This motion called for the holistic review of the existing agreement between the Government of Grenada and the Caribbean Agro Industries Limited. The result of this review is expected to provide farmers access to more affordable feed. 

The Senator posed new questions for the Leader of Government’s Business, Senator the Honourable Simon Stiell. In answer to these questions: 

• The position of the Chief Agriculture Officer which has been vacant since July 2020, and is still unfilled - the Ministry of Agriculture has indicated that the position is in the process of being filled. 

• The Farm Machinery Pool which has been closed since December 2018 citing inefficiencies, and high operational costs - Government plans to enter into a public-private partnership to provide this service to farmers. 

• The procurement process for the fisheries ice machines through a grant from the Japan International Cooperation System (JICS) has started. 

• Rabies antidote is available at all government health centres. 

• Answers are expected regarding the Praedial Larceny Fund when next the Senate meets. 

The Senator recognised and congratulated farmers Evans Gooding and Leonard Joy Peters whose efforts and tenacity earned the significant British Empire Medal (Civil Division) award, for their service and contribution to agriculture in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. 

Senator St. Clair thanks all who contributed by way of the petition, and thanks his colleagues within the Senate who provided stimulating debates on the issues presented during the sitting. Fellow senators were invited to accompany Senator St. Clair on farm visits, with dates to be confirmed. 

END