Voucher system in place to ensure farmers get income support

Around 1,300 farmers currently registered with the Ministry of Agriculture are being put on notice about changes to the roll out of income support.

During an August 19, consultation with farmers and fishers in North Leeward, Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar said complaints about the alleged misuse of income support were taken into account when Ministry officials met recently to plan for distribution of money and materials to assist with the post Huricane Beryl recovery efforts

“The last time when we had a big distribution was [La] Soufriere and everybody who owned an ID card we gave them $500… we are going to change the system this time…. They even say Caesar give people with long fingernails before they give the farmers. My name was stink ah road for that. When we had the meeting for how we are going to organize the distribution, we say the money for farmers, and you have to prove that you are a farmer because the money must go to the land. It is going to be unfair to give the same amount of money for someone who doing backyard farming and someone who has five acres of land.”

The Minister was referring to a meeting in Troumaca with farmers back in 2022 where one woman complained that persons with “long fingernails” who were not legitimate farmers were collecting income support and the money was allegedly being used for purposes other than farming.

More than 100 farmers from North Leeward communities turned out to the consultation at the Cumberland Playing Field to receive farming equipment under the Food Insecurity Project funded by the World Bank to the tune of $10 million. The chaotic distribution process saw many farmers leaving the venue frustrated and upset with having to wait almost three hours to receive farming implements.

Minister Caesar explained to farmers how the voucher system is designed, with farmers who have one acre or less of land to receive $500, those who have between one and three acres to receive $1,000, those with three to five acres to receive $1,500 and those with five acres and over will receive vouchers valued at $2,000.

He said this system will ensure that support the farmers receive “goes back into the land”.

“That money ain’t going by in the rum shop. That money ain’t going buy other things. The money going in [the] yam bank and tannia bank,” Caesar told those attending the meeting.

Under the voucher system, farmers will go to the Agricultural Input Warehouse to redeem equipment, seedlings, manure, and other items needed for the farm and they will receive the equivalent of the voucher’s amount in supplies. Caesar said the $12 million that the government has allocated for income support will be paid in line with the voucher system where farmers and fishers will be given according to the scale of their farm or fishing business.

“We not going to give the same amount of money to everybody, just like how we give the different acreages, you get a different amount for your income support, we are going to do it the same way.”