North Windward Arrowroot Farmers CA$H in
Today (September 14), 237 farmers received EC$426,000.00 in financial assistance to help with the impact of volcanic eruptions on the arrowroot sector.
The arrowroot factory at Owia was destroyed by ash fall during the 2021 volcanic eruptions. Arrowroot rhizomes are only purchased by the government.
The ULP administration has raised the price of arrowroot rhizomes from 25 cents to $1.00 over the last ten years. This resulted in a significant rise in output.
A sophisticated factory is now being built in Orange Hill and is projected to be operational for the 2024-2025 harvesting season.
The farmers thanked the government for the aid, which will help with the essential output expansion in the arrowroot subsector.
In a recent radio interview, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves promised that support for arrowroot farmers would be made available in conjunction with area representative Hon. Montgomery Daniel and the Cabinet.
Saboto Caesar, the Minister of Agriculture, congratulated the farmers for their hard work and dedication to the industry.
He emphasized his ministry’s commitment to ensuring that farmers are best positioned to address the crop’s production issues.
A conference with arrowroot farmers is anticipated before the end of the year to outline the government’s industrial intentions for 2024.
