St Kitts and Nevis Agriculture Minister Samal Duggins speaks at 2025 Budget debate

Two days after St Kitts and Nevis’s Prime Minister Terrance Drew presented the country’s budget for 2025 in the National Assembly, one of his government’s top ministers lauded the financial document saying it was all about delivering results for the people of the island-nation on the ground.

Samal Duggins, St Kitts and Nevis’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives, Sports and Creative Economy, spoke in the House on Wednesday, December 18, to contribute to the budget debate. He said the 2025 budget will lead to the empowerment of youth through upgraded facilities including sports, growth of small businesses, stronger communities through cooperatives and local initiatives, advancement of agriculture and fisheries, and promotion of a creative economy to give a platform to local talents and creation of jobs.

Praising the Prime Minister over his vision and mission, Minister Samal Duggins said agriculture has emerged to take the centerstage in St Kitts and Nevis’s economic conversation in the last few years and that makes him proud as the minister in charge of the sector. He, however, added that the people of the country still did not have an understanding of the real power of agriculture. Minister Duggins said the resourceful lands in the Caribbean had helped build empires in Europe and it is time that they are used to propel St Kitts and Nevis’s progress. 

25 By 25 Agenda

While saying that the year 2024 was a successful one for St Kitts and Nevis in terms of agriculture and fisheries, Duggins set the focus on plans for 2025, which include the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) ‘25 By 25 Agenda’ that aims to reduce the Caribbean region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025 across the CARICOM region to boost agricultural sustainability and food security. The agenda has found appreciation from international organizations, such as Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the United Nations’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Duggins said even though St Kitts and Nevis entered the game late, he felt it was something important to do.

Samal Duggins said St Kitts and Nevis’s food import bill stands at more than $198 million, and while thinking of ways to reduce 25 per cent of that figure, the government approached the problem from he angle of economic empowerment, i.e., how to put 25 per cent of the import bill in the hands of the country’s local farmers. 

Minister Duggins said having joined the plan late, St Kitts and Nevis had to come up with a realistic approach. He added that the government has encouraged the farmers to grow food items such bananas, onions, broccolis, cauliflowers, cabbages, melons and others that also constitute a major portion of the import bill. The minister said since the country consumed those products, the indigenous growers would not have a problem finding a market for their produce. 

“We selected the items that we can grow well, that we are already spending the money on nationally and directed our farmers. Because if we are already consuming it, there is a direct market. One problem solved because we don’t have to look for a market because it is there. The problem was we were not producing it enough. We are now encouraging our farmers to produce what we were consuming that we can grow well,” he said. 

The focus was on crops that can be harvested quickly and are climate-resilient, the minister said. 

Samal Duggins added that a similar plan was also applicable to livestock, fisheries and agro-processing. 

Samal Duggins explains the plan’s implementation

Speaking about the implementation of the plan, the Agriculture Minister then emphasized on challenges that the local farmers are facing like land and logistics. The government started helping the growers, like through buying equipment to prepare the land for agriculture.

He further said the government also ensured that the farmers got quality seeds free of cost to produce rich crop yields. A system was also put in place to train the farmers about growing particular crops taking into details such as what type of seeds grow in what type of climatic conditions. Care was also taken about the storage of the crops by setting up new facilities close to the farmers and reducing wastage of crops that did not meet the market’s standards. Agro-processing units are also being prepared to add value to such crops as end products. 

About the market for locally grown produce, Duggins said, “We have gone to every single supermarket in this country and they are now buying more local produce.

“RAMS is buying more local produce, Valu Mart is buying more local produce, Best Buy is buying more local produce, even some of the Chinese supermarkets we have here are buying more local produce.”

Claiming that St. Kitts and Nevis is now producing adequate food, the minister added that he has held fruitful discussions with relevant authorities in neighbouring islands to facilitate the crops’ export.

“The minister of agriculture for Saint Martin was here on a mission and said that they are ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis. The commissioner from Sint Eustatius [Statia] was here on a mission and said it herself that they are ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis. The Premier of the BVI was here, who happens to be the minister of agriculture in the BVI, also said it himself that he’s ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis,” the minister added. 

“The commissioner of agriculture in the USVI has said that he’s ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla is ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis and other countries around the region are ready to trade with St. Kitts and Nevis.”

Minister Duggins said a united federal effort was being put to improve St Kitts and Nevis’s overall agriculture scenario.  

The Minister also emphasized the government’s commitment to empowering fishers, protecting marine ecosystems, and seeing St. Kitts and Nevis play a leading role in sustainable marine resource management.

About the sporting sector, Minister Duggins said the country was creating a sporting revolution that would lead to the empowerment of its youth and make St Kitts and Nevis a leader in sports development, both for current and future generations.