Following Cabinet’s approval on 26th January 2022, the Minister of Tourism, Honourable Josephine O. Connolly and her team, along with members of Invest TCI and the Department of Agriculture, held the first Forum in the communities of North and Middle Caicos on Thursday 3rd February 2022.
The Hon. Minister responsible for Agriculture in her remarks noted how important the Grant was for the country and especially for the people of North and Middle Caicos. Hon. Connolly reiterated that this grant along with those of Invest TCI should encourage potential and registered farmers in the sector. The Government is committed to empowering locals in the movement towards food security. The Agro- Grant Incentive Programme is one of many programmes to achieve the overall goal of this industry.
The Invest TCI team along with the Department of Agriculture spoke to the Farming Community of North and Middle Caicos on the importance of the farm registration process which is a prerequisite for accessing the Agro- Grant and how we can simplify the process to better assist farmers.
The Ministry of Tourism team led by Hon. Connolly included, Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Cheryl Jones; Deputy Permanent Secretary, Mr. Ronlee James; and Roneta Huntley Thomas of the Department of Agriculture. Joining the Ministry of Tourism was Ms Angela Musgrove and Mrs Anissa Adderly of Invest TCI, to introduce the Agro- Grant Incentive Programme.
In North Caicos, the team was joined by the District Commissioner (DC) of Middle Caicos, Commissioner Delancy, Hon. Matthew J. Stubbs and Hon. Arlington Musgrove the Minister of Immigration and MP for North and Middle Caicos.
Remarks were made by the Hon. Stubbs and Hon. Musgrove. Hon. Connolly introduced the Agro-Grant Incentive Programme to the farmers present and Mrs Huntley Thomas outlined the criteria for accessing the Agro -Grant Incentive Programme.
Mrs. Adderley presented the farmers with an outline of the Incentive programmes offered by Invest TCI and how they can access the available programmes.
Farmers were given the opportunity to ask questions. The farmers who spoke informed the panel of the need for farm machinery to assist with land clearing, the need for labour and the difficulty in receiving governments clearance to hire the needed labour. Training in new and improve technologies was also asked for by the farming community.
After the presentations and the remarks by the teams, the farmers were given the opportunity to start the process of filling the Application for Farm Registration, the Agro Grant Incentive programme and the MSME programmes.
The team went to Middle Caicos and addressed the gathering. The farmers at Middle Caicos were interested in the Farm Registration and MSME programmes.
They asked about making the process being simpler for them and making available personnel from the various Departments to assist them instead of them coming to Providenciales and visiting the various Departments to obtain clearance letters for farm registrations. It was brought to the attention of the panel the need to know the zones of lands in Middle Caicos area so that farmers can have their land titles or know where they can engage in agricultural activities. District Commissioner Delancy told the farmers that the information is available and promised to assist them with this.
Also, the need to establish community groups was stated by the farmers who were given the support of Hon. Connolly, Hon. Musgrove and D. C. Delancy.
Thirty-nine (39) farmers attended the meeting at North Caicos and twenty-one (21) farmers attending the meeting at Middle Caicos.
For information regarding the Agro- Grant Incentive contact the Department of Agriculture via:
Telephone – (649) 946 5802 EXT 338 – 5262/ 338 5268
Email – agriculture@gov.tc
Website – https:/www.gov.tc/agriculture
