Black Immigrant Daily News

Seventy-five per cent of harvesting in the Black Bush Polder (BBP) has been completed and some farmers have already started to prepare lands for the next crop. However, the replanting of rice has been challenging as several pumps which supply water to farmers are not operating.

“The next crop is due to start somewhere around October 24, so whilst we are finishing off the other 25 per cent harvesting of this present crop, we are now moving apace to start the other crop,” Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Chairman, David Armogan said.

However, three pumps at the Mibicuri Pump Station are not working.

The Chairman, who was at the time addressing the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday, was expected to officially inform Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha about the situation.

Region Six Chairman David Armogan

To add to the water woes, the pump at Manarabisi is also out of order.

“That has not been working for a long time now. For the entire crop, that pump has been out of order because of a radiator problem. I am hoping that some of these little things would be sorted out so that we don’t have any hiccups for the start of the new crop. As you would notice, the weather is a bit friendlier and so once we start the crop around the 24th, it means that we will have to pump irrigation water for a while because all of the farmers will need irrigation water,” the Chairman noted.

He said he is seeking the help of the Agriculture Minister to ensure pumps are up and running in time for the next crop.

“Right now we are in the process of doing dams,” Armogan told the RDC while adding that most of the dams have already been repaired.

“The Ministry of Agriculture did give us a substantial amount of money to repair dams and so quite a number of all the dams that were slated to be repaired have already been repaired. There are still a few dams left and we are working to get those done. The entire sum has been expended so whatever work has to be done now, has to be done with machines that we have in our system,” Armogan added.

Meanwhile, the BBP which cultivated BBP 14,161 acres still has another 3500 acres to harvest. The yield is 38 bags per acre.

For the front lands which include the 52/74 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Maida/Tarlogie NDC, Good Hope/Number 51 NDC and Macedonia/Joppa NDC, where 26,246 acres are under rice cultivation, 44 per cent have already been harvested. The farmers there are getting an average of 35 bags per acre.

While the yield is a somewhat low, it cannot be considered bad when compared with some previous crops when the yield was stuck at 26 bags per acre.

The price being paid by millers in the Region is between $65,000 – $66,000 per tonne which is the same as what was being offered to farmers during the last crop.During the crop, there has been a moderate infestation of paddy bugs in some communities.

Meanwhile, cash crop farmers in both the front lands and the BBP are calling for the water levels in the canals to rise.

The water at the Adventure Canal has decreased considerably, resulting in salt sea water seeping in and making it difficult for vegetable farmers to get fresh water for their crops.

“Is share salt water we getting here. I ready to plant and is share salt water. We was getting rain and everything dead out and now we getting sun but there is no water,” one farmer told this publication. A similar situation exists for those farmers who depend on the Mibicuri Canal and those that depend on the Number 43 Canal which leads out from Yakusari.

Meanwhile, all rice farmers have since collected their flood relief cash grants. However, some 50 livestock farmers are still to uplift their cheques from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).

According to Armogan, these persons cannot be found. He said most of them have no phone numbers listed. The administration, he added, will compose a list of those names, so that when persons contact the regional administration enquiring about their flood relief cheques, they will be able to check the list of outstanding payments and advise the persons accordingly.

Meanwhile, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has completed its distribution of flood relief cheques to rice farmers.

“And so persons who did not benefit in terms of receiving cash grants, they will benefit in terms of fertiliser and seedlings and other kinds of assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture.”

He pointed out that the Agriculture Ministry is working very closely with all farmers, be it rice, cash crop or livestock so that they can produce as much as possible.

“As you know, the prices of vegetables have increased in the market and so we are trying to ensure that all our vegetable farmers get going again so that we can reduce the price and get it back to some normalcy in the marketplace.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The University of West Indies (UWI) has announced that all new incoming undergraduates will have to learn a foreign language.

On Thursday, UWI stated that a Foreign Language Policy has been approved for its five regional campuses and is being implemented.

According to the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies, Professor Justin Robinson, “Going forward, the expectation is that all UWI graduates will be at least conversation competent in a language other than English.”

The UWI currently has teaching and learning departments on its campuses that produce substantial numbers of graduates with specialised foreign language degrees. Majors and minors in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin) and teaching competencies in others like Arabic, German, Hindi, Korean, and Yoruba have long been commonplace. The introduction of this policy, however, will now see all students participating in foreign language training at a general level.

This seminal policy development for The UWI, as a top-ranked global university, advances its compliance with best practices in teaching and learning found in elite-ranked cohorts.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles noted that the “Significant change will enable the further regional and global mobility and empowerment of graduates. Foreign language proficiency will no longer be a major impediment to employment amongst our graduates in the global world.”

“This is a fundamental change that will transform the identity of UWI students and graduates and will provide more relevant graduates to serve as a development platform for the new, more modern, and globally competitive Caribbean economy,” Vice-Chancellor Beckles further elaborated.

The UWI Foreign Language Policy is being implemented on a phased, Faculty-by-Faculty and campus-by-campus basis, beginning in the academic year 2022/2023 with applicability to new incoming undergraduate students only.

Universal coverage and participation of all students are anticipated within the next three academic years. Flexible access and easy learning is the pedagogical principle, with students having the option of self-tutoring or guided instruction. They will have the full duration of their academic programme to acquire language competence. Those coming into the university with prior competence shall be exempt from this requirement.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 06, 2022 (SKNIS): Didier Trebucq, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, said that there is “great potential in St. Kitts and Nevis” adding that the “future is looking very bright” given the expected economic rebound from the global health emergency.

Mr. Didier visited the twin-island Federation from October 03-05, 2022, and assured that various agencies of the United Nations (UN) will continue working closely with government and civil society in St. Kitts and Nevis on a number of issues, including post-pandemic recovery, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, strengthening data storage, digital transformation, enhancing the blue economy and much more.

The programme of support for these projects is covered in the Country Implementation Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis. Mr. Trebucq shared aspects of the plan during a meeting with Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew at his office in Government Headquarters.

“It was a great opportunity to discuss … how the UN can meet the expectations to trigger Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and this vision of achieving a sustainable island state in St. Kitts,” he stated.

Mr. Trebucq also held meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Minister of Sustainable Development, the Honourable Dr. Joyelle Clarke, and Junior Minister of Youth Empowerment and Social Development, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, for a similar review.

“We want also to enhance this plan to the current priorities of this government, and this was basically an outcome of these discussions,” said Mr. Trebucq. “Another outcome from the discussion was to see how we can further build resilience in the country, support the efforts to develop renewable energy, working for youth, support the government in expanding access to healthcare and especially access to universal healthcare in St. Kitts and Nevis.”

While in St. Kitts, the UN Resident Coordinator participated in the launch of the “Resilient Caribbean: Engaging and Training Youth, Strengthening Integrated Social Protection Sector Delivery Joint Programme on Tuesday, October 04, 2022. The pilot project aims to reduce poverty and inequalities, increase youth employment, and enhance social protection systems for households. The programme is implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Mr. Trebucq visited Nevis on October 05, met with the Cabinet of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) and visited various sites where various UN projects are ongoing.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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The quality of life of Saint Lucia’s most vulnerable will be further safeguarded as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved a loan of USD 5.2 million to shore up the Government’s assistance to those most at risk.

The Safety Nets for Vulnerable Populations Affected by Coronavirus Project in Saint Lucia will expand existing social protection programmes to reduce vulnerability and increase social resilience by supporting the basic needs of those disproportionately impacted by the effects of COVID-19 measures.

Beyond increasing the resources available for citizens, the project will also address severe challenges in special needs education.

This is in keeping with regional and global commitments to advance equitable, inclusive, and quality education by enhancing access and learning support for this demographic.

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According to Vice President, Operations, at CDB Mr Isaac Solomon, “the intervention will address poverty, contribute to easing the economic and social disruptions, temper the pressure on the social protection system, support the most vulnerable including single parent households, children with disabilities, children in foster care, and Persons Living with HIV. It will also enable learning continuity of students, as well as at-risk youth whose needs are being met through state-funded institutions.”

CDB has been an important social protection partner for Saint Lucia. Over the past 50 years, the Bank has provided significant financial investments and technical support for social protection initiatives to prevent, mitigate and manage the risks faced by vulnerable populations.

CDB’s flagship poverty reduction programme – the Basic Needs Trust Fund – exemplifies the various aspects of social protection by providing access to basic socio-economic infrastructure and social services.

The Bank will continue to strengthen strategic alliances among donor agencies to mobilise additional resources, promote sustainability and ensure coordination of social protection interventions in Saint Lucia.

SOURCE: Caribbean Development Bank. Headline stock photo credit: Asael Peña (Unsplash.com)

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