PNP wants long-term strategic plan for agriculture

The People’s National Party (PNP) Spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Development, Victor Wright, says long-term support for agriculture must be provided now to ensure the nation's food security as we continue our battle with the Coronavirus crisis.

Wright says that nowhere in the $25 billion package announced by the government is a clear strategy outlined to ensure the nation’s food security during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

He is encouraging the government to identify key food items that are important to national food security, which can be produced locally and in collaboration with the farmers and private sector and immediately embark on a path to increase production and distribution of these crops.

The current supply chain must be reviewed with a view to identify the points of disruption and take steps to improve the production flow, establish appropriate cold and dry storage and invest in further food-processing technologies of these products, the PNP spokesperson argued.

He said the knee-jerk injection into the sector with no strategic plan for sustainable food security will not go a far way in ensuring a steady supply of food to the country.

Wright is calling for the government to develop and implement immediately a stimulus plan that is specifically geared towards protecting the local agricultural sector.

He says such a plan must go beyond the short and medium term and must anticipate the next crisis.

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