MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE Haynesley Benn will again be taking the concerns and suggestions from land cultivators to Cabinet.

"We did not get the nod [in the Budget] but all hope is not lost and I want you to know the ministry is working on your behalf and we will address your issues," he said.

His comments followed a meeting on Thursday with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Cultivation Services, Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation, Barbados Agricultural Management Company, Rural Development Commission, and private cultivators.

"Our desire is to get as much land as possible back into production but to do so we need the services of the tractor operators because if we want to encourage this we need to meet them more than halfway," he said.

Some of the issues brought up by the cultivators included: the age and type of their equipment, which they said was unsuitable for local soil; duty free concessions for cultivators; proper training; and difficulty accessing loans.

In response, Benn said the $2.7 million tractor cultivation scheme was still in place and the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) was performing, in his opinion, very well.

"The cultivators expressed difficulty with the length of time it takes to get loans so we will take a look at the ADF and if it is stringent we will clear the hurdles but I am very satisfied with it so far, there are no delinquent loans.

"The ADF is well maintained but it has a screening process which may be responsible for the wait so we will work with it in terms of shortening that time (around six months), but if that time is necessary for the management and proper evaluation of those funds, then I cannot," he said.

Chief Agricultural Officer Barton Clarke spoke on the issue of training.

"We recognise the need for there to be a better job done in regards to training so people can operate the equipment instead of just driving and also to be sensitive to new types of equipment.

"We need to start dialogue with both the Barbados Vocational Training Board and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic to look at the appropriate schemes," he said. (CA)