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February 7, 2024

National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) and third Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris, has joined the growing calls for the removal of Samal Duggins as Minister of Agriculture.

“Our Minister of Agriculture is out of his depth,” Dr. Harris stated during his party’s press conference on 1st February, 2024, pointing out that “nothing is happening” in agriculture.

The calls by farmers and other industry stakeholders for the dismissal of Minister Duggins as Agriculture Minister have been echoing across St. Kitts over the past months, and have intensified since the start of the new year as the minister appears seemingly unable or unwilling to address the many plights affecting the farming and fishing community.

“On 30th January, 2024 on Winn FM, farmers expressed their disappointment in the leadership and management of the Ministry. I suspect that until they demonstrate through the streets of Basseterre, this government will take them for granted,” said Dr. Harris who is uniquely positioned to talk on matters within the agriculture sector having served as Minister of Agriculture on two occasions.

Minister Duggins continues to promote his ministry’s goal of reducing the countries food import bill by 2025 as part of Caricom’s 25 by 2025 Agenda. However, Dr. Harris said this is an unrealistic goal based on the current projections and the lack of attention being given to the sector.

He said that, “We are unable to reduce our food import bill by 25 percent. The Minister does not know what is the production nor demand for the crops selected to achieve the target of 25 percent reduction in food imports in our country.”

The PLP Leader lamented on the little support being given to the industrious farmers and fisher-folks by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“The Ministry of Agriculture is said to be one of the most chaotic and disorganized Ministries in our country. No wonder our farmers and fishermen have lost confidence in the Ministry of Agriculture,” commented the Federation’s third Prime Minister.

Sadly, this unfortunate situation is fast becoming a trend across St. Kitts and Nevis, as Dr. Harris noted that “the farmers and fisherfolks, like so many in our country, are experiencing hard times.”

To view the entire PLP press conference, click on the link