St. Lucia Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere has expressed concern over the high cost of food imports, while declaring that he is pleased Saint Lucia’s food production increase. Prospere disclosed that Saint Lucia spent almost $300,000 during the first quarter of this year on importing cabbage and over $160,000 on lettuce.
According to the minister, this was unacceptable; while Saint Lucia was pushing for food security, the country continued to import much of what it can produce. He hoped that through the seven-crops initiative, Saint Lucia would see a massive reduction in imports of items like watermelons, cantaloupes, pineapples, and lettuce which the Island can grow.
He revealed that he has been speaking with the seven-crops initiative stakeholders regarding his concerns. The seven-crops initiative is a joint undertaking with the Taiwanese to promote import substitution by focusing attention on increasing the production of selected crops.
Source: stluciatimes.com