PEP believes NDP Govt. has neglected agriculture
At the time, the party was on air with its debut radio show on Monday September 29, 2014 on ZBVI 780 AM.
“There are some [persons] who believe that the time for agriculture is over in our Territory and they govern in that way, as though the time for agriculture is passed. We in the PEP have a different view,” said President of the PEP Natalio D. Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru.
“We believe that we need to promote a well-balanced and sustainable development of our agriculture industry, making the best use of the resources in the Territory,” he said. At the time he was reading out and explaining the core principles of the PEP to the listening audience.
PEP Chairman Hon J. Alvin Christopher (R2) said that the Territory has one of the richest and most fertile waters suitable for fish farming and for years this has been talked about but not developed.
“This is an industry in itself that we need to develop…for years we have been talking about it and nothing is being done about it,” said Hon Christopher.
“I served as Minister for Natural Resources and Labour and we had done extensive research on [a certain areas] and we found out that it is second only to the Gulf of Mexico that you had a large congregation of migrating species,” he said.
“We have to try to develop that industry so that we have a third pillar to stand on and put food on our table and create new industries and new businesses,” said Hon Christopher.
“As a country and as a Government we need to turn to these resources to expand our sources of revenue,” said Hon Christopher.
“These are the areas which as a party we would [go further into] as a Government if given the opportunity to,” said Hon Christopher.
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24 Responses to “PEP believes NDP Govt. has neglected agriculture”
A bunch of wom......s in yellow.
How will they do that? Politicians need to be honest with the people and stop with this pie in the sky bull..it. The only way Agriculture makes money anywhere in the world is with mass production and very cheap labor. Otherwise you end up with overpriced s..t being sold or Govrnment subsidizing it. If we import labor for the greenhouses, sure I can see a future. IF we leave it up to locals who expect Govt to pay for water, buy all the produce, pay them big money etc. then it's doomed to fail. I feel for Sowande because if he does get elected he will surely get a rude awakening. People want realistic solutions not pandering and empty promises. Agriculture will NEVER be the 3rd pillar as long as it's cheaper to import. Agriculture will never be a 3rd Pillar if we are depending on the Green houses only. Back in the days we did bartering and were able to feed locally. The only way Agriculture becomes a pillar is if we start with medical marijuana. Otherwise it's just pure talk.
This time around, I am betting on the voters. I am betting on their sense of Urgency. I am betting on their Understanding our country being at the CROSSROADS; with our chances running slim. How much more DUTY FREE gifts can we afford to offer Mr. Rich ? .How much longer can we allow investors (I refuse to use the word Developers), Tax Exempt, Duty Free, Import-supplies-from-outside, import their well-paid management staff (while locals are paid minimum wages)?.
Some of these developments, by the time you put a dollar value of what we have given away wouldn't made a difference or impact our economy.
I further believe that "Joe and Sally voter" now understand that when we make theses overgenerous offers/exemptions to investors, we will still have an Expensive and over-priced government to run, schools to build, manage and upkeep, and expensive an over-price hospital to run, roads to repair etc., and that all of this takes money that will l come from no one else but us (by way of increased and New Taxes, increases in various fees; trade licenses, property taxes, VAT Taxes, parking tickets etc, etc.
Most of all, I believe in our Virgin Islanders as Responsible people who want a Better Life for our off-springs; who want, when it comes time to depart this life, to leave our country in a better condition than we met it. When the history books are written (and they will), we will want to be judged as a Vigilant people, Wise folks, an out-of-the-box thoughtful people..
I believe that we are finally getting the picture and will be guided by our conscience and the biblical principles we espouse, when it comes time to do our electoral duties; VOTE !!
I thank you for your understanding and Vigilance..