Eco St. Maarten Agricultural Research and Development Foundation President Denicio Wyatt making a presentation to Parliament’s committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) on Tuesday morning.
~ Subsidy requested ~
PHILIPSBURG–“Agriculture is one of the most important pillars that our economy needs to stand on,” said Eco St. Maarten Agricultural Research and Development Foundation President Denicio Wyatt during a presentation to Parliament’s committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) on Tuesday morning. Wyatt spoke to the Parliamentary committee on how agriculture can benefit St. Maarten in various ways, and the foundation’s request for government to subsidise the organisation’s agricultural programmes.
The foundation is an agricultural research and development centre, said Wyatt. According to the foundation’s website, its objective is to “improve the ecological productivity of the environment in connection with regenerative agricultural techniques, waste management and recycling of waste products or materials.”
A focus on agriculture will create better food security for the country, said Wyatt, adding that St. Maarten has put itself in a “dangerous” situation by being dependent on food imports. “What happens one day when the boats stop coming?” he asked. For him, the key is establishing and nurturing a sustainable network of local farmers to promote St. Maarten’s long-term food supply.
Wyatt also said a local agricultural trading network can help to reduce poverty because locally grown products will be cheaper than imported ones. This can increase persons’ buying and spending power, he said. Additionally, consuming locally grown organic products will give a better quality of life to residents.
Wyatt said agricultural education has been lacking. While the foundation and University of St. Martin (USM) are busy designing Bachelor of Arts (BA) courses and scientific research in community farming, there are no programmes for students to learn about agricultural processes or techniques before the tertiary level. This should be implemented at the primary school level as a part of the public-school system, according to Wyatt.
A greater focus on agriculture will also have health benefits for St. Maarten. “We also want to look at foods that heal and not medication that only suppresses a disease … how long will we keep exporting our dollar and importing products while we can produce these products locally for ourselves, and be able to capitalise on them for our economy, our tourism product and country St. Maarten overall?” asked Wyatt.
Speaking specifically about tourism, Wyatt said agriculture helps revitalise this sector through the creation of eco-tours, district-based tourism, and arts and crafts from waste products. He showed the parliamentary committee examples of crafts made from mango, almond woods and recycled wooden pallets.
Agriculture can improve job security as persons can move into this line of work with a greater demand for locally produced food, said Wyatt. Persons between the ages of 40 and 60 years old are the most motivated to go into agriculture, according to the foundation’s research.
“Creating cultural experiences to entice our locals and guests can become new entrepreneurship and job possibilities,” said Wyatt, citing community market days and festivals as examples.
Wyatt also expounded on waste management and the creation of green spaces as other aspects of agriculture in his presentation.
Nearing the end of his presentation, Wyatt highlighted the foundation’s collaboration with Spaceless Gardens. He then asked government to subsidise the foundation so it can continue to expand its projects.
In the question-and-answer session, Member of Parliament (MP) Egbert Doran of National Alliance (NA) asked Wyatt if his foundation ever submitted a request for a government subsidy and, if one was submitted, how much was requested. He also asked Wyatt to estimate how much his foundation would need to fund its programmes.
Wyatt said the foundation has not yet requested a subsidy from government. He claimed the foundation had been attacked by government in the past, which is why it had not requested a subsidy before.
“Ministers would come and visit the farm. [We would – Ed.] sit down and have good conversations. [Ministers would say] ‘Yes, we are willing to help and guide you in the right direction.’ Tomorrow you give them a call, and nobody wants to meet with you,” said Wyatt.
He also said there was a lack of information by government on how to request a subsidy.
Wyatt did not directly answer how much monetary support the foundation would require. However, he did say that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Prins Bernard Culture Funds have donated to the foundation in the past, to the tune of US $64,000 collectively.
“From a legislative point of view… we are going to need to have a number … that we can request the Ministry of Finance to increase the budget post to subsidise farmers,” said MP Tamara Leonard of United Democrats (UD). She also said the foundation would need to provide Parliament with financial documents so it can “back up” the request to increase a budget post.
MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (UD) said approximately $30 million has been allocated to small- and medium enterprises via the St. Maarten Trust Fund. She encouraged Wyatt to “work out the financial details” to perhaps be able to tap into these funds.
MP Rolando Brison of the United St. Maarten Party (US Party) said agriculture makes up 0.1 per cent on the country’s budget, which he called a “travesty.”
With time running short in the session, the meeting was adjourned until a later date. Wyatt will then be able to answer the lingering questions of MPs, including a query for a concrete figure for a subsidy.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/91905-agriculture-is-a-pillar-of-our-economy-says-wyatt
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