Farmers not happy with how support is being distributed

Farmers and fishers from some communities in North Leeward last week Tuesday, June 14 aired their dissatisfaction over the distribution of money under the farmers support programme by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

This happened at a consultation with farmers held at the Troumaca Government School, led by Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar and involving other officials from his ministry.

Michel Son of Petit Bordel, a fisherman and farmer questioned the methods used to determine the eligibility of fisherfolk who received equipment and supplies earlier that afternoon.

“Some of the people who get ice box, their boat cannot hold an ice box,” Son complained as he pointed to the size of some boats which he claimed are too small to accommodate the ice boxes distributed.

“I know for sure those ice box, they’re gonna stay there, or they gonna use them to sell on the street or something. If you do an investigation…might be only one or two of those fisherman who gonna carry that ice box in their boat,” he claimed.

He said once a boat is six to seven feet it will not be able to accommodate an icebox, and criticised those responsible for obtaining the required information on the ground for failing the system.

“You need to have a serious size boat to carry those icebox. This thing need to sort out properly so next time fisher folk can feel alright; do the thing in the right way”, he quipped.

Farmers, Julius Dublin and his wife complained that they went to various distribution points to receive manure but, “We never get a sack…no matter we look and manure is on the ground there, we are told names is on them. We are some of the biggest farmers in North Leeward and not a sack of manure we were able to get.”

Another person at the consultation, Ivana Robinson was displeased that persons who “all of a sudden become farmers” were recipients of money that was allocated for bona-fide farmers.

“The people who farming [are] not getting the money, most of the people, not everybody. There is a lot of people who have ID card because of whatever reason I don’t know, and they collecting money and the people who in the hot sun…not getting the money.”

She complained that the names of many farmers, including her husband’s, are not on the list and therefore did not receive the money that should have been earmarked for them.
“Farmers money share and the people who have nails, who have curls, who drinking rum…getting $500.00 and the man who is using a hoe and working in the hot sun- others collecting farmers money, it hard….it really hard.”

Robinson called on the Minister of Agriculture to “sort out that list, it is time. The only way to clean it up is to go around by them people farms, go on the farms to see who is farming and who is not farming. I am not pleased with this at all.”

She and her husband are leasing lands from the government on Mount Alexander, and desire to have better roads to their farm. “The roads are in a bad condition, we want it cleaned too…we paying lease,” Robinson told the minister and agriculture officials.

Minister Caesar responded to the complaints including the farmers’ ID card saying, “We have a list at the ministry and the list says that there are about 10,200 farmers in the country…

“ It appears to me that on the list are some persons who got on by farming very, very, small areas and I believe that even some persons who do a little bit in their backyards used the opportunity to get the farmers ID, because the farmers ID is accepted by Western Union and Money Gram.

He said, “because of that, you have a lot of people, and because the law says, you don’t have to do too much to get this ID but when it comes to distribution, and you actually go online, and see somebody who really truly, you know, is not a farmer, receiving money, it will hurt you a lot.”

The agriculture minister told the gathering that these people will not forfeit their cards, “but what we have to do is that next time or having a distribution, we have to distribute accordingly. Because if the person is doing more, has more lands, I think that quite naturally, they should be compensated more because of the issue of that.”