Montserrat hit its target for local vegetable production in 2019/20. This according to the recently released National Performance Report 2019/20.
Prepared by the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in the Office of the Premier, the report reveals that the Ministry of Agriculture achieved its target of 95,000 pounds of vegetables. It also provides data on fish catch and broiler meat.
The data is compiled from the quarterly performance reports submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the M & E Unit from all ministries and accounting officers within the public service. This report also looks at the three rolling years from 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s strategic objective was to “Increase production of and access to targeted products (crops, livestock, poultry and fish), through research and education, outreach services, training and incentives and the implementation of specialized programmes and projects. [PPA 1.1]”
The target for pounds of fish landed was 80,000. According to the Statistics Department data used in the report in 2017/18 fishers landed 57,808 lbs. This yield was impacted by the effects of the hurricane (Irma/Maria), which destroyed fish pots, killed poultry birds, and damaged infrastructure,
In 2018/19, 65,646 lbs. were landed. This dropped by almost 50% in 2019/20 to 38,303 lbs. The report notes that the 2019-20 fish catch was “severely impacted by the number of days fishing was impacted bad weather – 88 days in this period as opposed to less than 20 days in the previous financial year.”
The target of pounds of broiler meat produced locally is 67,500. In 2017/18 the island produced 47,137 lbs., 34,658 lbs. in 2018/19 and 46,917 lbs. in 2019/20.
The island has been steadily working to increase local production of vegetables produced annually. The ministry’s target for vegetables was set at 95,000 lbs. In 2017/18, Montserrat produced 76,761 lbs., 67,991 lbs. in 2018/19 and 95,387 lbs. in 2019/20.
Other highlights from the report are:
Goal 2— Enhanced Human Development:
- 10 housing incentive grants were awarded in 2019-2020, an increase from the 8 awarded in 2018-2019. However, housing improvement grant declined in 2019-2020 to 10, compared to 18 in 2018-2019.
- The number of scholarships awarded increased from 6 in 2018-2019 to 8 in 2019-2020.
Read the full report 4-14-21-National-Performance-Report-2019-20
