The Agriculture and Commerce Ministries intensify their efforts to address the food security concerns in Saint Lucia and stimulate the agriculture industry.

With an increasing need to address the vulnerability of Saint Lucia’s agriculture sector, a Saint Lucian delegation led by Ministers of Agriculture, Hon. Alfred Prospere, and Commerce, Hon Emma Hippolyte, visited the United Kingdom last week to explore opportunities for export diversification in the U.K. market.

The delegation met with export stakeholders including representatives of Hotel Chocolat, who committed to working with the Saint Lucia government to expand the country’s cocoa production.

According to Hon. Hippolyte, while there are many opportunities for agriculture, manufacturing, and other services, Saint Lucian producers must ensure that their products meet international quality standards.

“The whole issue of sustainability in turns of how we produce crops, how we do not use harsh chemicals and all of these things are very much front and center and it is something we have to look at. The whole issue of what we use, how we us it and our record keeping is critical for the agriculture sector and we need to do all in our power to engage the agriculture sector in a big way to ensurethat we meet the international standards”

Minister Hippolyte says the delegation also engaged other stakeholders with a view of creating jobs, accelerating growth, and finding ways to foster the foreign direct investment and private sector investment the country needs.

With the current setbacks in the banana export market, Minister for Agriculture, Alfred Prospere emphasizes the importance of diversifying exports and expanding manufacturing exports where comparative advantage exists.

“There is still hope, but they must understand for us to continue to be making business with the supermarkets in the U.K it is about quality, it is about what the supermarkets require and I want to call on our farmers to ensure that this remains the highest priority for them is we have to continue to remain in this sector”

Minister Prospere pledges the government’s support in ensuring that Saint Lucian producers receive the necessary assistance to strengthen their export capabilities, with a focus on ensuring that Saint Lucian producers take full advantage of all sector opportunities in the international market.