Several government officials, agro-processors, farming entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector converged on the premises of the Fond Assau Agro-Processing Plant in Babonneau for its formal opening on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011. This modern facility was co-funded by the Republic of China on Taiwan and the Government of Saint Lucia at approximately Two Million EC Dollars (EC$2 million). The Taiwanese Government supported the refurbishment or modernization of the existing SLBC facility at the cost of EC$1.5 million and the land had been purchased by the government from the defunct St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) for approximately EC$280,000.
The lively proceedings were led by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Forestry, Hubert Emmanuel, who served as Master of Ceremonies (MC). Deputy Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Sonia Monrose delivered welcome remarks to an expectant audience. She noted that agro-processing serves to enhance food security; while improving the value chain by transforming primary agricultural produce making them ready-vacuum-packed for our busy housewives, house-husbands, restaurants, hotels, motels, supermarkets and other retail outlets throughout Saint Lucia.The Chairman of the Saint Lucia Marketing Board (SLMB), Mr. Stephen Best, pointed out that the Fond Assau Agro-Processing Centre, is a momentous occasion reflecting the foresight and vision of the Minister of Agriculture, Ezechiel Joseph; and by extension, the Stephenson King Administration. He said the SLMB is pleased to be associated with this facility from which the synergies expected would definitely redound to the national interest in the agricultural diversification drive. Mr. Best said, to implement the new mandate, the SLMB will be rebranded to the National Agricultural Clearing House to be shortly relocated near the IRDC in Cul-De-Sac. He disclosed, that some major changes will be made to the overall organizational structure of the SLMB to carry out its new role and mandate aimed at building confidence in farmers and producers in the agriculture sector by integrating producer organizations and agencies, while maintaining high international standards for products being manufactured at the Fond Assau Agro-Processing Centre for the local, regional and global markets. He concluded that the unfolding of this facility would inescapably impact the agriculture sector by generating significant revenue for producers involved in the agricultural diversification thrust throughout the island.
Resident Taiwanese Ambassador, Tom Chou, was pleased to see the completion and operation of the facility to increase the overall income of farmers. He said, the Government and people of the Republic of China on Taiwan were quite pleased to provide the funding to construct the Fond Assau Agro-Processing Centre at EC$1.5 million. Agriculture Minister, Ezechiel Joseph, who is also the Member of Parliament for Babonneau, said the new Fond Assau Agro-Processing Centre reflects the government’s serious commitment to agricultural development and the urgent need to provide incentives to local entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector. The minister noted, the farming community in Fond Assau will benefit significantly from this major infrastructure for agro-processing; the objective of which is to encourage sustainable agricultural production in fresh vegetables, citrus and a variety of root crops as well as manufacturing paper from discarded banana tree trunks islandwide. The HACCP-certified (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) Fond Assau Agro-Processing Centre has a complement of twenty (20) employees fully-trained by the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Minister Joseph observed: “when in full commercial operation would result in a major reduction of wastage of primary agricultural produce, such as mangoes, guava, golden apples, lemon, grapefruit and oranges among other seasonal fruits