Agro Processors Meeting

With the overarching goal of ensuring food security, and creating sustainable livelihoods for all stakeholders involved, recent efforts were made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development to underscore the importance of the agro-processing sector in national development. A meeting was held with agro-processors across Saint Lucia, providing comprehensive insights into the prevailing dynamics of the agro-processing industry. This served as a platform for industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts to delve into the current state of affairs within the agro-processing arena.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development, Hon. Alfred Prospere, acknowledges that while the sector contributes to the GDP, there is ample potential for it to assume a more substantial role within the local economic framework.

“An analysis of the imports and exports for agro-processed food items was performed for the five-year period for the year 2017-2022. The data showed that agro-processed products accounted for an average of 37% of Saint Lucian food imports making up the largest part of the food import bill”

Minister Prospere emphasized the importance of collectively addressing challenges and capitalizing on the nation’s strengths to foster a more resilient and prosperous agro-processing sector.

“A lot of what we produce here is exported, but we have to import them back into Saint Lucia, and we must do better than that as a ministry, as a government. There have been a lot of calls to me about why we have so much citrus and so many juices wasted all over the place, yet we import a lot of those products. I believe that it is time for us to take stock of what we grow locally and find new innovative ways to get into small manufacturing plants that can make those products easily available to us locally.”

The Ministry of Agriculture’s unwavering dedication to supporting the agro-processing sector, fostering its sustainable growth, and ensuring the welfare of its citizens underscores its commitment to the nation’s food security and economic prosperity, through a strategic blend of initiatives, partnerships, and policy actions.