Relief is on the way for farmers throughout the country who have been grappling with the lack of water resulting from the ongoing drought.
Government is collaborating with farmers to build dams throughout the island, to serve as catchment areas for water for irrigation purposes.
“We’re now building dams for farmers, and I had the opportunity to visit a dam recently that is being constructed around the Sandersons area, and I think that that area could be considered the breadbasket of Antigua and Barbuda,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday.
“There are a number of farmers operating in that area so that dam will produce probably a few million gallons of water.
“The whole idea is to ensure some sustainability in the supply of water to farmers and for them to have cheap water, because if you have these dams and they have fresh water, it’s cheaper than them buying water from the government, reverse osmosis water that is six times as expensive,” the prime minister said on Pointe FM’s Browne and Browne Show.
The Prime Minister commended Minister of Agriculture, Samantha Marshall, who is the point person for the government on the new initiative.
“In addition, there is a gentleman who I really must commend in terms of the technical expertise extended to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda and to the farmers — a gentleman by the name Albert Christian,” Browne said.
“He apparently would have built a number of private dams in the Bendals / Body Pond area. He’s the one who is showing them how to use the clay to put at the bottom of the dam to make sure that the water does not seep into the earth.
“He’s practically doing it for free. My understanding too, the farmers in that area, they would have contributed towards the cost so it’s between the government and the farmers themselves who would have partnered to create that opportunity to build this huge dam in order to ensure more reliability in the supply of water. So that is going very well and we intend to do so right through the country to assist farmers in getting water,” the prime minister added.
Scaling up agricultural production
Prime Minister Browne reiterated that Antigua and Barbuda can’t rely exclusively on tourism, and now more than ever, there’s a need to scale up agriculture production.
“Just this week I had the opportunity to visit a number of farms throughout the island and I was surprised by the amount of abandoned farms; and I think the primary reason for it is because of a lack of water, and in many instances the water is very expensive,” Browne said.
“Our water for home consumption is among the cheapest you will find anywhere in this hemisphere, but if you’re a farmer and you’re using a lot of water then clearly that could create a strain.”
Even more relief for farmers
The prime minister said his administration is providing even more relief for farmers.
“What we did recently as well, those who have thousands of dollars of arrears and would have been disconnected, we agreed to reconnect them with the understanding that they will pay the current bills,” he said.
“We’ll just hold the arrears in abeyance until we determine exactly what we’ll do with those arrears. So, what we’re trying to do now is to provide water so that the farmers can produce more.”
(This article was written by 268 TODAY journalists)
3 responses to “Gov’t, farmers collaborate to build massive dam in Sandersons”
What happened to the desalination plant that was promised to farmers in this area ? Pot works dry .
Very good. To begin is the way to start.
Way to go Alvin