A protracted dry spell on the southern Caribbean island of St. Vincent (SVG), according to agriculture minister Saboto Caesar, is having an effect on the cost of exporting local crops.
The southern region of the eastern Caribbean (apart from the Guianas) and the Greater Antilles should monitor their water supplies for implications of the drought, according to a recommendation made in late April by the Barbados-based Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF).
“With this dry weather, the price of exporting produce has actually increased. I am therefore aware that last week, the cost of a 100-pound sack of dasheen was around $200. A bag of dasheen costs roughly $95 to produce, but because there is currently a shortage due to the dry period, prices have gone up”, according to Caesar.
According to Caesar, the agricultural ministry helps farmers by bringing water and grass to various farms so that the animals can be fed.
Caesar urged farmers to participate in the process and, if necessary, to contact their extension offices.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ drought situation was a worry according to the Caribbean Drought Bulletin for April 2023.
