The facility in Londonderry will produce 50,000 disease-free citrus plants every 18 months, boosting the citrus industry.

Prime Minister Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica has announced a significant investment by the government in a new citrus facility, with a total funding of EC$7.8 million. The project is aimed at boosting the country’s agricultural sector, is supported by the World Bank under the Emergency Agriculture Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project (EALCRP).

The new facility will play a key role in revitalizing Dominica's citrus industry, helping farmers access high-quality, disease-free planting material.

The Citrus Certification Facility developed at Londonderry, aims to produce up to 50,000 disease-free citrus plants per 18-month production cycle under controlled conditions. The project has almost come to its completion.

This will help the farmers in accessing high-quality planting material and supporting the revitalization of the citrus industry and boost agricultural GDP. This site will facilitate the production of clean, disease free planting material, strengthening the sector’s resilience against citrus greening disease.

The agricultural minister Roland Royer stressed on the importance of focusing on the ‘five C’s’. The five C’s programme includes citrus, cocoa, coffee, coconut, and cannabis (the silent C). Under this programme the government has taken initiative which aims at expanding priority crops and increasing agriculture’s contribution to Eastern Caribbean $700 million to GDP by 2030.

The objective of this investment mainly lies in supplying high quality disease-free planting material to farmers. Also, the project aims to facilitate the revitalization of the citrus industry. With this development, the farmers will be benefitted. Also, this investment will encourage more people to engage in the agricultural sector. With many people joining, this will enable Dominica to be self-sufficient in the agricultural sector.

This investment is also very critical for restoring agricultural livelihoods following Hurricane Maria. This project also aims to enhance long-term climate resilience in the agricultural sector.

The government is also investing in other programmes to build its agricultural sector.  A total of $5 million have been invested by the government on the construction of its new National Abattoir in Layou Park. This poultry processing and the rehabilitation of the pig unit has the capacity to process up to 5,000 birds per day and 50 pigs per hour. This will significantly expand Dominica's local production capability and reduce imports by 30 percent.

The government has also proposed an Agro-Processing unit. It is a Hub for Beekeepers and Pepper Sauce Producers. This new initiative is set to establish a national agro-processing facility to support honey producers, pepper sauce manufacturers and other value-added enterprises.

The Dominican government is taking initiatives to develop its agricultural sector. At the same time the government wants Dominica to become self-sufficient in its agricultural produce, hence taking the right decisions to invest and develop its capabilities.

Source - https://associatestimes.com