<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is of the view that \u201cwe have too much food in the country for people in any part to be having a difficult time with eating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a wide ranging exclusive interview on Sunday, PM Gonsalves empathized with the plight of Vincentians who may not have been directly exposed to the COVID-19 disease but are still suffering from its adverse impact on their livelihoods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are a number of people, because of COVID, who are having a rough time; you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This awareness of some average Vincentians daily struggle to make ends meet, particularly at this time, has inspired the Gonsalves-led Cabinet to establish a farm produce distribution program which would be piloted by Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the country side we have food \u2013 ground provisions, plantains, tomatoes, oranges; we have a whole set of things out there which we are accustomed to eat. So you\u2019re not going to find people out in our area easily going hungry. Though you may have one or two people, particularly those that are very old and we have to look out for them because they mightn\u2019t have family here and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut in the urban areas where if somebody want ground provision they have to go to the market and you know the prices at the market. Now a man who\u2019s working day pay to day pay, weekly even monthly and he lose his job or he\u2019s one week on\/one week off; his life would be difficult even though we\u2019ve taken a number of steps for instance if they have any loans at the bank they would get a moratorium, if they can\u2019t pay their electricity and water bills \u2013 ease up the pressure nuh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut still it rough! So I tell Sabby I said listen, \u2018we have to organize and buy food out there from the farmers. Let the farmers make an extra dollar, because we have the money.\u2019 And as part of the social safety nets use the churches, use the Social Development Ministry, use RedCross and so on to give out boxes of ground provisions and fruits and vegetables and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From where he sits, PM Gonsalves has discerned that the local agricultural industry is producing \u201ctoo much food\u201d for anyone to go hungry here. He however recognized there are other factors that are aggravating people\u2019s lives today. \u201cIt is the distribution plus of course individuals who don\u2019t have the resources to go buy the stuff, that is the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The battle scarred politician also considered the value adding costs that must be factored into the final price coupled with the fact that comparative costs savings are perceived \u201cper unit head of the family\u201d may lead \u201ca woman with 3 children\u201d to decide to buy a \u201cpound of rice with some chicken back in it. That might go longer than a breadfruit and 2 pound ah yam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately he settled upon the fact that, \u201cwe have food which we can help to share up because some food in the countryside is spoiling! And you see that too, so it\u2019s a question of matching the thing \u2013 normally you use the market to do that, the economic system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut at a time of COVID, the market system breaks down really. It becomes difficult because parts of it not functioning. Parts of it where people can earn some money are not functioning \u2013 people are getting laid off and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister Caesar\u2019s public announcement as per the roll out of this next COVID-19 soci-economic response is anticipated as he is said to have been, \u201crunning with the idea and putting some flesh onto the broad bones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JP.Schwmon.Vincy@Gmail.Com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is of the view that \u201cwe have too much food in the country for people in any part to be having a difficult time with eating.\u201d In a wide ranging exclusive interview on Sunday, PM Gonsalves empathized with the plight of Vincentians who may not have been directly exposed to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\n