The
Development Planning Unit
Government of the British Virgin Islands

NATIONAL INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Emerging Issues, Agriculture
(continued)

9.0   SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATION ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The successful agricultural development will depend much on how the Government will implement the policies and strategies mentioned in Section 8.0.  Also the proper teaching and solving of the problems facing the sector as elaborated in Sector 5.0. The following are some recommendations in relation to agricultural constraints in the BVI.

(i)  The land use plan should be available soon to enable farmers and planners to implement and plan for future development. More research should be made on soils, crops and livestock. Agricultural production should only concentrate on coastal strips and lower slopes of valleys where there is good soils and upper part of the mountain should be planted with trees. Agro-forest programme should start immediately.

(ii)  In order to attract labour, the Government should increase wages and salaries to match with other sectors which are attracting many workers. The incentives the Government is providing now should continue i.e. duty free importation of farm machinery and other agricultural inputs. Farmers should be encouraged to form a Farmers Association. This will help them to have a collective bargain in securing loans and other services.

(iii) Education is a fundamental factor in the agricultural improvement drive. Agriculture must be a part of the education system’s curriculum. Education will have to be directed towards re-orientation and removal of the social stigma attached to farm activity. Formal school education and training in agriculture has to be made compulsory in order to attract young generation.

(iv) We have seen that the rainfall is not enough and fresh water for farming is even scarce. In this case, the government should complement its effort by constructing more dams and ponds through the territory. Furthermore the existing water infrastructure should be renovated. A drip irrigation, which has been introduced in Paraquita Bay and Cappoon’s Bay area, should also be introduced to other areas of the territory.

(v)   The government should reorganize the marketing system, the marketing facilities should be made available closer to the source of production. Introduction of a Marketing Information System (MIS) will assist the farmers with up-to-date information on current prices on the market. This will stimulate further production. Construction of roads to productive centres will help farmers to market their produce easily. In this regard, the department should prepare an integrated agricultural development programme which will include other projects related to agriculture production e.g. construction of more abattoir and marketing centres etc.

(vi)  Farmers should be educated on modern agriculture, which involves using modern tools, fertilizers and pesticides. It is not sufficient to train farmers alone. There is a great need to train available technical agriculture staff mainly in the field of agriculture extension work, cooperative organization marketing, conservation, etc.

(vii)  The Government should increase the budget allocation to the Department of Agriculture especially the capital expenditure that deals with investment in agricultural development in terms of making research and agricultural infrastructures. Also, this area covers training of farmers and staff. Without budget, increase agriculture will remain stagnant.

(viii)  The department should develop a data bank. As we have seen the available data were not well organized and their viability is questionable. There is a need to have a qualified statistical officer whose duties will be to collect and analyze the data for planning purposes.

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