Regional councillor, Jean-Philippe Courtois, called on parliamentarians to reevaluate the banana quota. He mentioned the importance of agriculture in Guadeloupe, which represents 4.6% of the jobs in the territory. The banana production plays a significant role in calculating the Gross Domestic Product of Guadeloupe.
The quotas had been lowered by the European Union in 2007 because of disastrous weather conditions, but today, the sector has been greatly restructured. Guadeloupe can now produce more than the reference tonnage imposed by the European Union. Therefore, farmers are producing at a loss beyond this limit.
He indicated that the convention binding banana producers and the regional council of Guadeloupe today plans to:
- Help young farmers get started thanks to the quota increase, which will eventually contribute to a renewal of the class
- Create 500 direct jobs on the farms for low-skilled workers
- Create 350 indirect jobs
- Set up a training plan for workers
- Strengthen the small and medium-sized farms by ensuring a better income.
As a result of this, a letter was sent jointly by the senator Dominique Théophile and the deputy Olivier Serva, to the Minister of Agriculture. He responded by assuring his support to raise the European quotas to 100,000 tons of bananas for Guadeloupe.
Source: caraibcreolenews.com