The Ministry of Agriculture with financial support from the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), through the Taiwanese Technical Mission, has implemented a tree planting program to help build resilience against the impact of storms and hurricanes.

The windbreak project will reduce the loss of crops during a storm or hurricane.

Speaking at the official launch in Praslin, the field officer attached to the Banana Productivity Improvement Project, Steven Moncherry, said the program has a two-fold effect as the mango trees will protect banana fields while allowing farmers to earn an extra income from the sale of the fruit.

“After Tropical Storm Kirk, we saw it necessary to have these barrier plants—the wind breaks, because we observed that on Mr. Lynch Fevriere’s Estate, the mango trees protected the farm and the damage he sustained was not as much as [the damages sustained on] other farms. So we went to the Taiwanese Technical Mission and they agreed to sponsor this tree crop planting project. We are using mangoes for two reasons. Mangoes have a double effect: they can be used as windbreaks and the farmers can also use them as a cash crop.”

Approximately five thousand tree crops will be purchased with the aid of the Taiwanese Technical Mission. Farmers from Region Four will be provided with the knowledge of where and how the tree crops should be planted.

Taiwanese Technical Mission representative, Mario Cheng, underscored the importance of the project to the farmers in Saint Lucia.

“We try to engage farmers, and to provide assistance in the area of agriculture. Today we have a project that entails using trees as a barrier to prevent snapping in the banana fields. I would like to thank every participant in this venture. We are going to work together to make this change,” he said.

The windbreak project launch was well attended by farmers and students from Region Four. The intention of the Ministry of Agriculture is to implement the initiative across the island in the future.