PM defends his farm businesses amid criticism that his involvement is selfish

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By Makeida Antonio

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne responded to negative comments against him and his decision to become a major player in the country’s agricultural sector.

This after National Democratic Alliance (DNA) leader Joanne Massiah openly berated Brownes on the Big Issues Watchers’ agenda.

She argued that the Prime Minister’s involvement appears to be selfish as it would propel him to become the twin island state’s largest food producer.

I want to tell you that food is the future, and our Prime Minister Gaston Browne knows it and that is why he has positioned himself strategically with his farm, because against all odds, deprivation or not, people must eat. With the cost of living escalating and the imports of food that can be grown here, the Prime Minister is positioning himself and himself to be the next major local food producer in Antigua and Barbuda, according to the leader of DNA.

Massiah also criticized the Browne for allegedly failing to engage local small-scale farmers in talks that would provide assistance to grow their production and market share and become more sustainable, thereby boosting the country’s food security.

The Prime Minister should have first sought to restructure the agricultural sector. He should have first sought to bring the farmers together to ask them what your challenges are? He should have met the technicians to find out which crops are easily grown here in a sustainable way, so he should have invested in storage facilities so that we don’t have this glut and waste in our market and at the same time , he should have started to have discussions on primary manufacturing, on agribusiness. He should have brought these stakeholders together and told them what do you need? She suggested.

However, in response, Browne told local radio over the weekend that he believes his involvement in farming has had a positive effect on the farming sector. He also revealed that the sourcing investment in his farm of almost EC $ 1 million diminished his financial interest in his farming business.

Interestingly, agriculture has gone from 2 to 3 percent, so there has been about a 50 percent growth in agriculture, and I want to say that I personally take the credit for that. . What is happening now, you see that more and more people are investing in the agricultural sector. I was able to collect a number of entities even in my farm, as an example; I attracted two investors and am now a minority shareholder in the farm, he said.

The prime minister told listeners that the expansion of the country’s agricultural products will reduce imports of chicken, and any discussion of deliberately pushing small farmers out of the market must mislead residents.

I can guarantee you that by the end of 2022 you will see a reduction in chicken imports entering the country. These investments do not crowd out small farmers, as these charlatans like to say; you know differently. What they are doing is shifting imports for people in Antigua and Barbuda, he said.

In April 2021, Prime Minister Browne announced that his company, Farmer DG Browne Company Limited, had been registered with him as the sole shareholder. He added that while voters have a choice to vote for him, they have no sovereignty over how he spends or invests his legitimately earned income and loans.

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