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Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer, Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Dennis Blackman (FP)??

Farmers must realise that the Ministry of Agriculture’s incentive scheme involves a lot more than just rebates.

So says Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer, Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Dennis Blackman, who explained that incentives may come in the form of loans, which are administered through the Agricultural Development Fund; duty free concessions; as well as rebates and grants.

Loans may be administered, for example, in the case of a disaster while duty free concessions could be applied to vehicles.

Speaking at Monday’s town hall meeting on agriculture at the Alexandra School, Queen’s Street, St. Peter, Dr. Blackman revealed that in the last financial year some $700,000 in rebates were given to local farmers including for technologies such as greenhouses.

He, therefore, urged framers to contact the Ministry for details on the several areas in which incentives are offered.

Citing the example of greenhouses, Dr. Blackman said if qualified farmers purchased such technology not only would it be duty free but they would qualify for a rebate of 40 per cent.

The Agricultural Incentives Programme covers several areas including Cotton Development; Export Promotion; Irrigation Systems; Land Cultivation; Farm Security; Retooling Fishing, Poultry and Livestock Industries; Support for Youth in Agriculture; Organic Farming; Aquaculture and New Technologies.

Interested persons may contact the Ministry of Agriculture’s Services Unit, Graeme Hall, Christ Church, at 434-5000/5076/5077/5078/5082 for further details or visit the website at http://www.agriculture.gov.bb/.

andre.skeete@barbados.gov.bb

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