MNIB/Mirabeau Farm School partner for fresh supplies to St Vincent

by Linda Straker

• Agriculture sector on mainland St Vincent is decimated
• 18,000 pounds of fresh produce will be sent to St Vincent from Grenada
• Effort is a joint project of farmers, Mirabeau Farm School and MNIB

More than 18,000 pounds of fresh produce will be sent to St Vincent as a joint project from Grenada.

The Marketing & National Importing Board (MNIB) has collaborated with the Mirabeau Farm School and senior farmers, to provide relief supplies of fresh produce and water to St Vincent.

Afia Joseph who is the current Chief Executive Officer of the MNIB said the produce will leave this week for St Vincent to assist with relief efforts. “We are making arrangements to hand the items over to the National Disaster Management Agency in keeping with the upcoming trip that they have organised to St Vincent,” she said.

Providing a breakdown of the supplies from Grenada, Joseph said that 17,600 pounds of green bananas; 1,000 pounds of pumpkins along with smaller quantities of other fresh produce and a supply of bottled water. The items will be distributed through Grenada’s disaster management office. “This is just one of the efforts in place to provide relief to the people of St Vincent,” she said without disclosing information about initiatives under consideration.

Joseph praised the resilience and humility of farmers who have been severely affected by the pandemic and the increased incidences of praedial larceny, and thanked the Mirabeau Farm School and the farming community for generously supporting this effort. “MNIB continues to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and the farming community to generate much-needed solutions for the sector,” she said.

The agriculture sector on mainland St Vincent is decimated because of the eruption of La Soufriere Volcano which began an effusive eruption in December 2020 and violent eruptions since 9 April. Most of the agricultural lands were within close proximity to the volcano and now these areas are a wasteland of ash and other debris caused by lahars and pyroclastic flow. The ash from the volcano eruption has covered and or affected St Vincent and neighbouring islands.