The Saint Lucia Marketing Board continues efforts to stimulate, facilitate and improve the production and marketing of fresh agricultural produce.

In an effort to ensure a consistent supply of produce throughout the year, the Department of Agriculture, Saint Lucia Marketing Board, and the Taiwan Technical Mission has entered into a contractual agreement with a core of farmers. This comes on the heels of a 6-month contract commissioner last year, where twenty (20) farmers were scheduled to supply a variety of crops as part of a trial program.

A total of 30 farmers have been contracted under the arrangement signed on Wednesday. According to the Chairman of the Saint Lucia Marketing Board, Emmanuel Clery, this new purchase agreement aims to deepen relationships between the Saint Lucia Marketing Board and local farmers, resulting in a more effective food marketing plan.

“The hope of the marketing board is to ensure that we have as many of the farmers participating in programs like these rather than searching all over Saint Lucia looking for a  market. It is the hope that maybe eighty to ninety percent of farmers will have this kind of arrangement. This would not only be beneficial to farmers,  but also to consumers as well”

The seven crops targeted under the “Enhancement of the Efficiency of Production Distribution Supply Chain in the Fruits and Vegetable Sector Project,” commonly known as the Seven Crops Project, would be among the crops expected to be supplied by farmers. Ambassador of the Republic of China, Taiwan to Saint Lucia,  H.E. Peter Chia-yen Chen, commended all stakeholders on their efforts to ensure the success of the Seven Crops Project.

“Taiwan will continue to work with the Government of Saint Lucia to advance agricultural technology and promote a striving agricultural economy and achieve the 2030 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals”

The Ministry of Agriculture continues to underline its commitment to supporting agricultural stakeholders and ensuring a thriving economy.