Project Overview
OVERVIEW
The agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP is currently estimated at approximately 17.3% and the sector provides jobs for approximately 21% of the labour force. The decline in banana exports by approximately 20,000 metric tonnes over the last decade - largely due to the dismantling of the EU banana regime - has accelerated efforts to further diversify into other crops.
Dominica is a major supplier of agricultural produce - fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers - in the Eastern Caribbean. To increase supply of these products to growing regional markets and internationally, priority will be given to:
• boosting crop production by providing irrigation infrastructure, rehabilitating farm access roads, citrus rehabilitation, and providing technical advisory services, inputs, planting materials to farmers.
• boosting investment by assisting agri-entrepreneurs with the preparation of investment proposals; improving access to credit; and creating a more enabling environment through targeted public sector investments.
• improving post-harvest handling and marketing of agricultural produce via the establishment and operation of the two packing houses.
The project supports the start-up of operations of two already-constructed multi-purpose packhouses at Roseau and Portsmouth by providing the equipment required to make the packhouses operational; and correcting a design flaw at the Portsmouth facility.
