Agriculture officials discuss plans to revive the arrowroot industry

Whilst he has been extremely focused on the revitalization of the banana industry, Agriculture Minister, Saboto Caesar says that there are other commodities that also need to be given attention.{{more}}

One of the first commodities on the minister’s list is the arrowroot industry, because, according to Caesar, it is of critical importance to a large percentage of Vincentians.

“The arrowroot industry continues to play an integral role in the agriculture industry in St Vincent and the Grenadines and there is a particular cadre of farmers from the North Windward constituency who make significant livelihood from the production of arrowroot starch,” Caesar told SEARCHLIGHT.

Caesar on Tuesday, accompanied by former Agriculture Minister Montgomery Daniel and officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, met with the Board of Directors of the Arrowroot Association to discuss plans on the way forward in reviving the sector.

Caesar said this was the third meeting he has had with the Board of Directors of the Arrowroot Association since taking up the agriculture portfolio. Tuesday’s meeting proved successful, he said, as certain outstanding matters were discussed and settled.

The Minister disclosed that, at the meeting, he had received the “comforting news” that over 95 per cent of arrowroot farmers who planted last year are willing to re-invest.

“I intend to speak to Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance, as it pertains to assistance in drafting a plan,” he added.

Another success of the meeting was the agreement to form a sub-committee which will meet next week Tuesday to discuss and draft a national arrowroot production and productivity plan for St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Meanwhile, Caesar informed SEARCHLIGHT that he will continue to lean on the shoulders of Montgomery Daniel for support on his mission to help sustain the arrowroot industry.

Daniel, also the area representative for North Windward constituency where arrowroot is mostly produced, is also a member of the sub-committee formed on Tuesday.

“Since he has the institutional knowledge about this industry, I intend to lean on his shoulders significantly for technical advice as to how best we can continue to sustain the arrowroot industry here.”

Arrowroot cultivation is now concentrated on farms located north of the Rabacca River, particularly in the Owia area. In 1998/99, the industry produced 312,000 lbs of starch, which represents about three percent of the maximum levels that the island exported in the 1960s.

In the past, the St Vincent Arrowroot Industry played an important role in the economy of the island, contributing close to 50 per cent of the country’s foreign export earnings and was the principal source of employment and income of the rural people from the 1930s to the 1960s.

According to the Agriculture Minister, the plan is to “source the right market which will help bring back the glory days of arrowroot, and in turn boost the livelihoods of the many farmers residing in the North Windward area.”