Minister outlines gains in easing water strain for farmers

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir touts what he believes has been a transformation to a sustainable water future for farmers under his leadership.

At a Barbados Labour Party meeting streamed online and at drive-in locations in St. Philip last evening, the St. Philip South MP underscored that changes in rainfall patterns as a result of climate change meant that farmers can no longer depend on rainfall for agriculture, particularly if they aim to increase their production. That was why during his tenure he sought to provide them with alternative water sources.

One of the solutions to remedy the challenge of water scarcity was the creation of dams. One such facility is soon to be completed at River, St. Philip. River, was previously expected to be completed by the 2021 rainy season but had to be postponed because a stream passing through the dam had to be first diverted to allow workers to line the dam.
“The lining will be going in this month and for this year’s rainy season we are going to be able to provide the farmers at River in St. Philip . . . access to a continuous supply of water,” Weir declared.

“And in the dry season, they can still continue to grow their crop. They would be able to produce a lot of the crops that we have to resort to importing simply because we were having problems with prolonged droughts.

“We are going to go to the north of the island. The farmers at Spring Hall have been complaining, the wells running dry, can’t get water. We have also had a paper that went to Cabinet to provide 75 million gallons of water at Spring Hall so that the farmers down there would have a year-round supply of water as well,” he said while endorsing St. Philip West candidate Kay McConney.

In addition, the agricultural minister hinted at the introduction of a Project Care initiative and laid out plans for the expansion of the feed programme and the expected benefits for graduates through an empowerment and enfranchisement drive.

“Right across Barbados [they will have] an opportunity to be able to be trained, to understand business, then we give you the land at a minuscule $300 an acre per year. We give you all of the inputs, the dripline, the seedlings, cultivate the land and get you going. And then we turn around and take 40 per cent of your supplies so you have access to market. That is what this government is doing for Barbadians, that is what we are doing for agriculture so that all of you … have opportunities that were not there before,” he added (KC)