Mr. Larry Franklin and Mr. Othlyn Vanterpool
OECS Council of Ministers of Agriculture, meeting in Anguilla on Thursday, April 28, expressed delight that the Government of Anguilla readily undertook to host their annual meeting, notwithstanding that the island is not a full member of the Council.
Anguilla’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Curtis Richardson, made the point that since assuming office he had a requested a revisit of the local agricultural sector towards the development of a new appropriate farming policy for the island. “This undoubtedly will involve adoption of new approaches with the intention of utilizing our limited agricultural resources in a sustainable way,” he explained at the meeting at La Vue Conference Centre. “I believe that this is timely and will parallel decisions made in forums such as these.”
Minister Richardson continued: “Presently, we are in the gestation stage. We are sowing good seed hoping to reap a harvest for the nation. Some seeds are like Chinese Bamboo. We will have to plant, water and fertilise the seeds. It may take a few years before we witness germination, but, but we can be jubilant with the rapid growth thereafter. I trust this meeting will manifest in the advancement of our respective countries relative to agricultural development.”
Mr. Othlyn Vanterpool, Ministerial Assistant in the Ministry of Agriculture, was of the opinion that such a meeting was “timely especially when the OECS and, indeed the wider Caribbean, are concern about food security and food safety.
Mr. Vanterpool was pleased that consideration was being given to an area in which the Anguilla Government has a keen interest. That is, the “strengthening of school-feeding programmes in the OECS and strengthening employment for young women and young men in the Caribbean”.
“We here in Anguilla look forward to be actively engaged in the entire meeting,” he went on. “I am sure that these two aforementioned areas would be considered high priority, since our newly-elected Government has pledged to establish cafeterias in our public school and youth employment is also high on the agenda. We look forward to learn of your experiences in other islands and consider best practices as we forge ahead with projects in these very important areas.”
The other main speakers were Mr. Allister Mounsey, Acting Head of the Economic Development Policy Unit of the OECS and Mr. Arthur Nibbs, Chairman of the Ministerial Council of Ministers, Anguilla. Both speakers underscored the importance of agricultural development in the OECS sub-region and the need for healthy eating and living.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Larry Franklin, Anguilla’s Permanent Secretary, with responsibility for Agriculture.
