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The agriculture sector
plays a significant role in the socio-economic
development of the country. It contributed 4.2 % to
GDP in 2005 and remains one of the most critical
economic activities particularly for the sustained
development of Grenada’s rural economy. Grenada was
the world’s second largest producer of nutmeg before
Hurricane Ivan. Other spices, grown on a smaller
scale, are cinnamon, clove, pimento and bay leaf.
The country is also famous for its production of
fine flavoured cocoa. Bananas are primarily
cultivated for the domestic market .A wide range of
tropical fruits, vegetables and root crops are grown
on a small and medium scale, mainly to supply local
demands. The Poultry produced only supplies about 12
% of local requirements. Other livestock reared are
cattle, pigs and small ruminants which are mainly
backyard type operations. The fisheries sub sector
is an important foreign exchange earner.
A major challenge at the national level will be
to make agriculture viable and attractive for
investment in support of the national economic
development process. The challenge has become
onerous because the sector lacks the necessary
infrastructure (irrigation, roads, storage and
transport and marketing) especially for non
traditional crops. There is also a lack of modern
technologies as well as necessary information to
support planning and decision making. Other
characteristic features of the sector are an aging
population; low levels of investment capital and
weak linkages between agriculture and other sectors;
small and uneconomic farm sizes and low
productivity. Frequent hostile weather conditions
also contribute to the risks of production.
The policies which the government propose to
implement are directed at modernizing the sector to
become more efficient and competitive. A strategic
framework has been developed for removing the
identified constraints and achieving the desired
objectives. The strategic framework for addressing
the constraints targets 8 areas: institutional
modernization; research development (R&D) and
transfer; Investment and credit; trade and market
development and promotion; new and value- added
products and development; natural resource
management; infrastructure improvement and disaster
management.
In the area of modernization, assistance will be
needed, inter alia, in the areas of improving
agricultural information systems and training. R&D
assistance will include development of crop and
livestock products and production systems.
Assistance in Trade and market development and
promotion will include development of comprehensive
regional positions and capacity building to fulfil
trade obligations. Other critical strategic areas
where assistance will include inter alia: attracting
private sector investments; funding for technical
and economic studies; development of investment
profiles; increasing value added; promoting
sustainable management of resources; provision of
adequate and well managed infrastructure as well as
measures to mitigate the risk in agriculture,
especially those that may be caused by natural
disasters.
In furthering its agricultural development
agenda, Grenada stands to benefit from regional,
hemispheric and international and partnerships with
the OECS, through its Agriculture Plan, the CARICOM
led Jagdeo Initiative, the Caribbean Fisheries
Regional Mechanism (CRFM), the UN FAO-led National
Medium Term Investment Profiles (NMTIP), the Summit
of the Americas Agriculture Agenda 2015 and the UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially
Goals 1, 3, 7 and Goals 8.
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1 Extracted from the National
Medium Term Priority Framework for FAO Assistance –
Grenada Draft document, 2006
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