COPORATE PLANNING

CORPORATE PLANNING UNIT

MANDATE:

The Corporate Planning Unit (CPU) remains steadfast in fulfilling its mandate of providing the relevant management/technical support and information access necessary for guiding decision-making and policy development within the agricultural sector.

The CPU is headed by the Chief Agricultural Planning Officer (CAPO) Who has oversight of five (5) main functional areas;

Agri-Economic Planning and Project Management
Agricultural Statistics
Information System Management
Information Dissemination and Communications Management
Marketing/Agri-Enterprise Development

Agri-Economic Planning & Project Management Unit

The section provides policy guidance, project development, and implementation support to the Ministry of Agriculture. The key responsibilities of this section include monitoring the implementation of capital projects, provision of support for execution of project activities, monitoring policy implementation, responding to data/information requests from internal and external stakeholders, and co-ordinating the planning and programming of the Department’s activities including preparation of the capital component of the annual budget. Macroeconomic data analysis is also conducted to guide decision making within the sector.

Information Technology Unit

The Information Technology Unit provides I. T. services support to the head office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development inclusive of its out district divisions. The primary responsibility of the Unit is to manage all computer based systems, information systems and servers through the maintenance of the hardware, networking and software aspects of Information Technology.

This is achieved through the use of a trained staff compliment which is headed by an Information Systems Manager and supported by a Database Systems Engineer, an Information Technology Officer, an Information Communication Technology Technician and a Webmaster. Each support officer maintains aspects of the Ministry’s I. T. related technologies according to their designated roles. The goal of the Information Technology Unit is to maintain and guarantee Information Communication Technology efficiency geared at increasing productivity output for data access, storage and retrieval taking into consideration confidentiality, integrity and accessibility (CIA) of data and the provision of agricultural information for public consumption externally through the MOA web-portal.

Tasks handled by the Unit:

MOA Server Management
MOA Web-Portal Management – https://moaslu.govt.lc
MOA Data Sharing Platform Management
MOA Network Services Support
I.T. helpdesk support

Agricultural Statistical Section

This section is led by a Statistician who is assisted by a team of Statistical Assistants. The section is responsible for the collection, organization, and dissemination of statistical data and information as it relates to production and sales of agricultural output (crops, livestock, etc). The data/information generated is featured in the Annual Agricultural Digest which is available on the Ministry’s website.

Information Dissemination and Communications Management Section

The Chief Information Officer presides over the day to day functioning of the section and is aided by Information Assistants and Technicians. Their main role is to foster effective communication management and facilitate the timely documentation and dissemination of the Ministry’s work programme in an effort to ensure widespread public awareness, sensitization, and education on activities, projects, policies, and decisions among sector stakeholders and development partners.

The key outputs for the section fall under four main areas: Current Affairs, Productions, Strategic Communication Development, and Advisory and Social Media:

Current Affairs

Productions

Strategic Communciation Development and Advisory

Provides guidance and assistance to the Ministry in:

Social Media

The section maintains the Ministry’s social media presence through regular updating of its Facebook Page and Youtube Channel and other social media platforms in order to showcase the latest events in our island’s agricultural development, bring insight into how it impacts the survival of adjacent industries, people and livelihoods in Saint Lucia. Additionally, the section is involved in covering various events, dissemination of information, public relations, and image building.

Marketing Section

This section is headed by the Chief Agri Enterprise Development Officer. The work programme of this section mainly involves the provision of technical support to farmers, agro-processors, and other industry participants in the following areas:

Application of food safety standards and good manufacturing practices
Recommendations of suitable equipment and technologies to promote greater efficiency
Project preparation – proposal and business plan writing
Business support services – bookkeeping and record keeping, software recommendations, and training
Market research, data gathering, and analysis
Branding and packaging
Post Harvest techniques

The Marketing Section also engages in crop monitoring, processing of applications for trade licenses, farmer registration, and issuance of farmer identification cards.