SVG to receive over 10 million Euros in grant funds

Officials from the European Union and the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines this week signed financing agreements,{{more}} which would see this country receiving more than ten million Euros in grant funds.

This Tuesday, at the Central Planning conference room, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Jolita Butkeviciene, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean of European Commission’s Directorate for Development and Cooperation (DEVCO), sealed the deal on the 10th European Development Fund, as well as the Agricultural Development and Modernization Programme, with the signing of the official documents.

The Agricultural Development and Modernization Programme, also called the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM), will see 9.93 million Euros (EC$32,769,000), distributed in five distinct areas, in an effort to reduce the levels of poverty in St Vincent and the Grenadines, through increased production, investment, exports and employment in the agricultural sector.

Of this, 6.16 million Euros is expected to be used towards the provision of agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation systems, greenhouses, feeder roads, abbatoir and meat processing facility, poultry production and other agro-processing facilities.

300,000 Euros will go towards the provision of a revolving facility in support of commercial production and marketing. 1.19 million Euros will be used for the promotion of sustainable land use practices and environmental management, 610,000 Euros for the provision of appropriate incentives to encourage youth participation in the agricultural sector and another 1.15 million to strengthen institutional capacity and marketing arrangements to support sustainable agricultural production and exportation of bananas, fruits and vegetables, poultry and pork products.

Laura Anthony Browne, Director of Planning is the project’s National Authorizing Officer, while the project would be supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture, under the management of the Chief Agricultural Officer Leslie Grant.

The project is expected to run for five years.

Under the Congo Valley Road Rehabilitation and Bridge Reconstruction Project, an additional 1.425 million Euros (EC $4.7025 million) is expected to be used for the construction of the Grand Sable and Congo Road Valley bridges, rehabilitation of the Congo Valley road embankment, as well as the rehabilitation and resurfacing of the Congo Valley road.

These infrastructures were damaged during Hurricane Tomas in 2010 and the flash flooding of 2011. The three-year project will be implemented through a project approach modality, with the contracting authority as the National Authorizing Officer and the Ministry of Transport and Works as the project supervisor.

The Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines will take full responsibility for the maintenance of the facilities through BRAGSA, when the projects are completed. Butkeviciene used the opportunity to congratulate the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines for what she described as an historic occasion, saying that this country was the first to receive funding under the BAM.

“It’s an honour to launch this important gesture … and we certainly want to ensure that the whole ownership of the process is with you.

“We are here to support if you need us through advice, through experience or in any other way, and we trust that the spirit of this ownership and partnership will continue throughout the programme of implementation and it certainly will open up the doors for our future collaboration.”

The Prime Minister, in thanking the director, said that the contribution will go a long way, but more funding would be needed for continuing development.