Great Vision Designs

A group of over 100 farm workers from different districts in Saint Lucia has been carefully chosen to participate in a farm work program that will take place over the next six months. This program is a collaboration between the Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) Project and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development. The main goal of this initiative is to boost local food production and support the recovery of the agricultural sector following the impact of COVID-19. The farm workers will provide direct assistance to farmers through manual labor, aiming to improve the quality and quantity of production. This effort is particularly timely, given the recent distribution of 39,000 bags of fertilizer to farmers, which is expected to result in higher yields. The selected farm workers, who have been vetted by the Ministry of Agriculture and the UBEC Project Implementation Unit, will be stationed in various agricultural regions across the island to ensure that every district benefits from this program. Mr. George Alcee, Crop Technical Officer of the UBEC PIU, emphasized the significance of this initiative, stating that the Farm Labour Support will help address the challenge of recruiting reliable labor and contribute to food and nutrition security. The assigned tasks for the workers include land preparation, weeding, pest control, fertilizing, harvesting, and packaging, among other farm activities. An Orientation Ceremony was held on June 3rd, 2024, where the selected farm workers were briefed on their roles and responsibilities, safety guidelines, and employment terms. During the ceremony, Honourable Alfred Prospere, Minister with responsibility for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development, highlighted the importance of this initiative in providing employment opportunities for the youth and emphasized the critical role the farm workers will play in improving production quality on farms throughout the island. The Farm Worker Program is scheduled to run from June to December 2024.