The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries have received US$25 million to implement the Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project ( DEALCRP).
The project which will be implemented over a five year period will be done in four main stages. Stage one will focus on the restoration of the productive base where farmers will be assisted with seeds, fertilizers, tools or equipment and materials for the replanting and restoration of crops. Stage two will focus on the restoration of key productive infrastructure which will include forming productive alliances to strengthen farmer groups and provide assistance from production all the way to marketing
Stage three focuses on project management and coordination while stage four will be a contingency emergency response which will enable the Ministry to respond quickly and get resources out should there be another disaster.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Reginald Austrie, so far a number of things have been done including the employment I contractors to restore the trails, the sending out of tenders for seeds and fertilizers and the conducting of technical training and capacity building for an extension, livestock and fisheries officers.
The government has established a Project Implementation Unit within the ministry to deal with the day to day management and execution of the project. The project seeks to assist farmers and fisherfolk affected after Hurricane Maria to restore their livelihoods and adopt climate-resilient practices.
Part of the program is a grievance mechanism where persons can lodge complaints and have grievances investigated. Hon. Austrie says that this program presents probably the last chance to get it right, to execute a program well. Persons are advised to visit their nearest extension office to obtain and fill out an Expression of Interest Form.
