NDP Manifesto 2025 - Flipbook - Page 9
Our Plan to Revive Agriculture
Farmers are the backbone of our rural
communities, and their hard work
produces our food and commodities
for export. Under the present
administration agriculture has declined
drastically. Though we all feel it, farmers
suffer the most.
To rebuild agriculture, we need to take a real
interest in the lives and livelihoods of our farmers
and ensure they get the support they have been
lacking for far too long. We must make them more
productive and remove the unnecessary hurdles
they face daily while trying to do their essential
work.
We will:
Establish a national marketing agency to
assist farmers with marketing their produce
at home and abroad.
Provide credit to farmers at low interest
rates and on flexible terms through the
National Development Bank, to assist them
in the purchase of new equipment and tools.
Repair and increase feeder roads to
provide better access to farms and help
farmers to transport their goods to market.
Implement a zero-tolerance approach to
praedial larceny using a special police unit
to combat this crime, and by introducing
special court procedures both to prosecute
praedial larceny cases swiftly and to
compensate farmers for their loss.
Link farming to the tourism sector by
encouraging hotels to source produce from
our farmers.
Invest in farm tourism, such as farm-totable tourist attractions, and on-farm living
experiences.
Build and maintain greenhouses to
promote efficient farming of vegetables for
local and export markets.
Promote food and nutrition security by
reducing our food import bill; encouraging
healthier eating; reducing the use of
petro-chemicals in food production and
encouraging the eating of locally grown
foods.
Promote agro-processing to add value to
our farm produce and create new jobs.
Reintroduce agricultural science in schools
to help develop the next generation of
farmers.
Support small and medium sized farms
by distributing seedlings to households
and providing support from the Ministry of
Agriculture.
Reintroduce Agricultural Exhibitions to
encourage farmers to innovate and excel.
Invest in new equipment and techniques to
increase yields and improve efficiency and
profitability.
Invest in research stations to fight pests,
develop pest-resistant strains of crops and
maintain seedling banks for farmers.
TOGETHER WE WIN!
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