The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands congratulates the newly elected executive of the Grenada Association of Poultry Producers (GAPP).
Members of the executive were elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, 5 November 2019 at the Upper Level Conference Room in Grenville, St Andrew.
The new executive comprises:
- President: Jason Phillip
- Vice President: Joshua Lewis
- Executive Secretary: Sheena Belfon
- Treasurer: Vincent Williams
- Floor Members: Egbert La Guerre and Ernest Mitchell
The membership of GAPP comprises farmers who are rearing different types of domestic birds commercially for the purpose of meat and eggs. The Grenada Poultry Association has been working towards attaining food and nutrition security and alleviating hunger and poverty since 1994.
Delivering the feature address at the AGM, Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Hon. Yolande Bain-Horsford, challenged the new executive to let their stewardship be one of ushering strategic thinking, “Where each investor should recognise his or her role in the value chain.”
The Ministry of Agriculture’s mandate is to promote National Food and Nutrition Security. “Our efforts to eradicate hunger calls for us to feed ourselves, thus providing an enormous opportunity for the poultry association and most importantly for the poultry farmers of Grenada. This requires partnership between the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Poultry Association.”
As the new executive takes office for the next two years the minister implored them to be more innovative in their deliberations. “We must begin to take a big picture view of the situation confronting us and be prepared to work towards a common cause. Our journey not for one moment must be ad hock, but must instead offer a clear roadmap for the development of a sustainable poultry industry, where each stakeholder can see his or her investment worthy of contributing to a viable industry.”
“While challenges exist for quality of inputs, cost of energy, improvement of farm management techniques, research and development, training, value chain development and value-added; investors in the industry must begin to have a targeted focus along the value chain,” she added. “As issues of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and traceability mechanisms are encouraged, we are committed to the adoption of the Caribbean Regional Standards.”
She reiterated government’s commitment towards assisting the organisation. “We know too well that we cannot do this alone. Please be assured that government remains very committed to creating an enabling environment for a thriving poultry industry. This is testimony to governments’ approval of the six recommendations, and more importantly commissioning the poultry working group and oversight committee to fast track the implementation of these recommendations.”
Ministry of Agriculture
