PROPOSAL FOR SOCIAL FUND AND MUCH MORE

Prime Minister Makes Proposal for Social Fund cial partners through the establishment of an independent committee. “For this reason, I plan to present a proposal to the social partners, for the creation of a social fund that will be used to help the most vulnerable in our society. The concept is that everyone who is working will contribute towards this fund. I will lead by example, contributing a portion of my salary every month to help those in need and I will be encouraging my Cabinet colleagues to do the same. Similarly, I will be encouraging everyone who is able to make a contribution, to do so. This is by no means mandatory. It is simply a suggestion made in trying to come up with creative ways to help those in need. We are a Christian society, after all, and we are called upon to be our brothers’ keeper,” the Prime Minister

The Government of Grenada will propose the creation of a social fund to be managed by the country’s social partners to bring a measure of financial relief to Grenadians directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his address to mark Grenada’s 47th anniversary of independence on Sunday, Feb. 7, Prime Minister, Dr. Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, said Government alone will not be able to assist everyone in need, but if they collaborate with the business community and members of the public, some relief will be possible.

Dr. Mitchell said the funds will be managed and disbursed by so-

Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell

said.

Dr. Mitchell said while everyone may not be able to get assistance citizens must try, as a Christian nation, to help those in need. He identified some of the categories where individuals were affected.

He said, “Any beneficiary of this initiative must be someone with justifiable need. It will be verified and there are many who fit that category – farmers, fishermen, workers in hotels, restaurants and bars, tourism and market vendors, taxi drivers, water taxi operators, tour operators and tour guides, other industry service providers, including operators of marine-based businesses, LIAT workers and others involved in aviation services, hairdressers, barbers, entertainers, school-based vendors, shopkeepers, small travel agencies, other business owners; property owners. The list goes on and on. They are all hurting.”

Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell

addresses students at assembly

Plaque of appreciation presented to Prime Minister

HEALTH MATTERS Priority Roll Out Vaccination List

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shawn Charles, said frontline workers will be first in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

Outlining the order of priority for the vaccination roll out plan on Wednesday, Feb. 10, Charles said law enforcement, customs and immigration officers, accommodation workers, individuals with underlying health conditions and persons over the age of 65 will also be given top priority.

He said, “First we’re going to target populations with significantly elevated risk of being infected and also one of the objectives is to protect the continuing functioning of essential services, including health services. As such, our first order of priority will be our frontline staff, starting with our healthcare staff. Of course, when we speak about healthcare; this includes all persons serving in the healthcare setting who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to COVID-19. We have to protect those who bear significant additional risk of burdens of COVID-19 to safeguard the welfare of others. We have other essential workers such as law enforcement, persons who are employed at nursing homes, the accommodation sector, at quarantine sites, persons who provide services to air crafts, airport taxis - all of this is included.”

The AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to health care workers beginning as early as the week of Feb. 15.

During Wednesday the 10 post cabinet press briefing, Charles said while taking the vaccine is not mandatory, it is a welcome intervention that he hopes will contain the spread of the virus. He describes it as an additional protection to safety and sanitary measures already in place.

Government Clarifies Regulations for Funerals and Weddings

The Government of Grenada clarifies that the number of persons permitted to attend weddings and funerals remains at 20.

While Cabinet has given consideration to requests to increase permitted numbers, the consensus is that these will be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the capacity of the venue to facilitate the requisite physical distance.

Persons seeking additional guests for weddings and funerals, must apply for the requisite permission. Facilities will be inspected prior to the granting of permission.

Given the fluidity of the pandemic and the need to constantly adjust and adapt, the Cabinet will continue to consider changes to the regulations where they become necessary.

AGRICULTURE CORNER

GIS NEWSLETTER Vol. 2, Issue 06 GCNA Urged to Embrace Opportunity Provided by COVID-19

Minister for Agriculture, Lands and Forestry, Hon. Peter David, has urged the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association to use the lessons learned from COVID-19, as a means of returning to pre-COVID-19 production and sale levels.

The GCNA recorded in excess of EC $8.6 million, which was generated from the sale of 1,042,043 pounds of nutmegs last year and according to the organisation, $6.8 million was paid out to nutmeg farmers.

Delivering remarks at the Annual General Meeting in St. Andrew on Thursday, Feb. 11, the agriculture minister told farmers that COVID-19 is a perfect opportunity that should not be wasted.

“COVID-19 is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge from the standpoint of both fall in market demand for agricultural products and loss of government revenue. But it is an opportunity, in that all of Grenada has had an awakening about the importance of the agriculture sector. This is a golden opportunity that we must not squander,” Minister David advised.

Chairman of the GCNA, Leo Cato, who pointed out that the GCNA will continue to operate under the new normal, presented by COVID-19, said, “The GCNA will continue to buy nutmeg on a scheduled basis, going forward. The number of days will increase, as production levels increase.”

Chairman of the GCNA,

Leo Cato

Minister for Agriculture, Lands and Forestry,

Hon. Peter David

the construction of 11 roads and two bridges, creating access to hundreds of acres of agricultural lands. In addition to this, the Climate Smart and Rural Enterprise Development Project (SAEP) is moving full speed ahead with the planned construction of roads.”

Hon. David has also begun talks with contractors, exploring the possibility of their partnership, to assist on a voluntary basis with the clearing of some roads in areas where they may have assets involved in other work. The responses, so far, according to him, have been favourable.

Understanding the challenges experienced over the past year and having engaged hundreds of farmers since his appointment to the post of Agriculture Minister, Hon. David, spelled out some of the initiatives that will benefit Grenada’s Black Gold Industry.

He said, “We can immediately raise nutmeg production by 20 percent by just clearing the fields that are now inaccessible. There is also the $46.8 million contract for The Agriculture Minister is pleased that the GCNA and the GCA received the grant of EC$1 million from the Government of Grenada in December 2020 and dis-

closed that discussions are continuing on the finalisation of a loan component for the organization, which will be concluded soon.

AGRICULTURE CORNER

Meet the Farmer – Nester Noel

“I love farming. I get a lot of inspiration when I am in the land. I am very comfortable, and I enjoy seeing the end results,” explained Nester Noel, a 48-yearold farmer from Mardigras, St. George.

Nester started dabbling in farming in the early 90’s but 2012 was the year she decided to go commercial. She cultivates vegetables and herbs and rears poultry at the back of her home in Mardigras.

Nester has mastered the habit of producing her own seedlings with a strictly organic touch.

“I plant a variety of vegetables. I do some long-term ones like cassava, plantain and dasheen, but short term I do lettuce, pak choi, peppers, cabbage, celery, parsley and a lot of tomatoes. I do organic farming. I take pride in everything I do, from the soil preparation to the ground preparation. The trays, before I sow seedlings, I sanitize with bleach,” she stated.

She explained how she prepares her soil before planting.

“I use the potting mix and I mix it with a bit of fowl manure and a bit of cow manure. When I do the mix, I let it sit for a couple days and let it take some bleaching. When I sow, I wet them with ordinary water and once they burst, I start treating them with pen manure tea. It is infused with cow manure, rabbit manure, fowl manure and seaweed. Everything is treated with the pen manure tea and it is done on a twice a week basis and the other days it is wet with ordinary water,” she said.

Noel said the initial sowing of the seeds was for personal use, but she later noticed that there is a demand for it.

“I sow for my use and when I have extra, I give it out to persons who I know do farming. In recent times, a few persons had approached me to buy, so I said I was going to start doing extra so I will have a few trays to sell,” she stated.

Her best farming practice is early weeding. “I like to do early weeding, because when you plant, two weeks/three weeks after, you do your weeding, the crop does not take much bush, then it allows the crop to grow nicely and spread the way it should. When I harvest, I clean right away, so I don’t get the bugs in the other crops that remain,” she said.

Her major markets include MNIB and Foodland Supermarket. This is what her plans for the future entail.

“I am thinking in the future, crispy salad in a bag. You take your pak choi, you put it through a dehydrator, it becomes crispy. Then, you add your flavouring to it, you pack it in a bag with your other vegetables and somebody can go to the supermarket and pick up a crispy salad in a bag. My goal is to take farming to the next level in having a commercial farm; not just producing the vegetables but producing the by-products, at a level probably where we can export,” she explained. Noel also has advice for prospective farmers.

She said, “If you like farming, you can get into farming, because at the end of the day, farming pays. If you are doing vegetables, do animals as well, pigs, or goats, or fowls or even rabbits because you would want to use pen manure and not fertilisers and chemicals, because at the end of the day you want to have a healthy practice and produce things that will keep the nation healthy.”

AGRICULTURE CORNER

Farmers and Fishermen Registration –

Carriacou & Petite Martinique

The Division of Agriculture in the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs & Local Government is advising farmers and fishermen in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, who are not yet registered, to contact the division to arrange to do so.

All farm assessments will be done prior to the registration period which will run from Monday, Feb. 22 to Friday Feb. 26, beginning at 10:00 a.m. on each day.

Registered farmers and fishermen are also advised to walk with identification and provide information on their status of operation on assessment. on the opportunity and looks forward to a smooth registration process.

A registration fee of $20.00 will be charged.

The Division of Agriculture encourages all to capitalize

For further information, please contact:

• The Agriculture Division – Ministry of Carriacou & Petite Martinique Affairs & Local Government on 443-6026.

GRENADA FOOD AND NUTRITION COUNCIL CORNER

AGRICULTURE CORNER

Site Selection for Sweet Potato

– Tips by Agronomist Troy Augustine

- Well drained sandy or sandy loam soils are best suited for sweet potato production. Heavy soils and heavily organic soils are not recommended. They retard root development and result in poor shaped tubers. Heavily organic soils lead to abundant vine growth and poor storage root development.

- Fields with high nematode populations should be avoided. Avoid planting in the same areas 2-3 years continuously.

- Sweet potatoes are sensitive to alkaline or saline soils but respond well to soils with pH between 5.8 and 6.4. Lime should be added to soils with a pH less than 5.8.

NGOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICE

EWSLETTER

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021 Vol. 2, Issue 06

Local Children’s Authors Get Opportunity to Share Work Internationally

Grenadian children’s authors have an opportunity to promote their writing through the Expo 2020 Dubai initiative.

An avenue will be provided for them to share their stories with a global audience in an international edition of Children’s Tales From Around The World that will be published digitally and in hard copy. This book consist of short stories and folktales from nations across the globe. Authors will tell the stories of Grenadian culture, traditional folktales and in general stories that have been passed down through generations.

Authors who are interested in participating must provide a detailed synopsis or full text of the story, along with a completed template. The stories must be no more than 800 words and suitable for children between the ages of 5 to 12 years, of diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition, they must be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions and child-friendly. Local authors are urged to take advantage of this opportunity as Grenada endeavours to bring its storytelling culture to the minds and hearts of the world’s younger generations. The closing date for submission of entries is Feb. 22, 2021.

Expo 2020, Dubai which was postponed due to the pandemic, will now take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, over a sixmonth period beginning October, 2021 and culminating in March 2022 under the theme: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

There will be three sub-themes: Opportunity, Mobility, and Sustainability. Grenada’s theme is: ‘Grenada! Enhancing its Environment Through the Movement of its People, Culture, Products and Services’.

The Government of Grenada is coordinating the participation of local exhibitors who will display their goods and services. Grenada’s Expo Journey was officially launched on October 29, 2019 with the slogan: ‘Grenada! On the Road to Dubai Expo 2020’.

For further information and to receive a copy of the submission template, please email:

internationalbusinessgda@gmail.com or call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and CARICOM Affairs on (473) 440-2640 and mobile number (473) 536-9818.