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FEBRUARY 04th, 2006

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PLAN TO REVIVE NUTMEG INDUSTRY

An action plan to revive Grenada's nutmeg industry was presented to the island's government by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Winston Cox of Barbados. According to a statement issued by the Commonwealth, Cox presented the document to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Gregory Bowen at a meeting in St George's on January 25. Grenada's nutmeg industry, a major income earner for the country, was devastated in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan.

The Commonwealth action plan covers replanting, the processing and development of nutmeg-based products, market and export promotion activities, and institutional changes. "The destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan was a great tragedy for Grenada", said cox in the release. "The action plan presents a new beginning for the nutmeg industry and has the potential to create wealth and generate jobs for the citizens of Grenada," he added.

The plan was developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in co-operation with the Indian Institute of Spice Research, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) , and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) following a research visit last year by a team of experts. Cox, who was in Grenada for the biennial Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) Caribbean Regional Consultation from January 25-27, met the Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Lennox Andrews, and the Chief Executive of the Agency for Reconstruction and Development (ARD), Richardson Andrews, to review the Secretariat's programme of assistance to Grenada, including the Government's post-Hurricane Ivan economic recovery programme.

After the extent of destruction by Hurricane Ivan was assessed in 2004, the Secretariat put together a three-year assistance package valued at £1 million (EC$5 million) from 2004 to 2007, aimed at helping Grenada rebuild its shattered economy.

The package included technical support for rehabilitating infrastructure, principally in planning for and implementing the reconstruction of schools, public and historic buildings, and roads. Assistance was also provided to strengthen institutional support for the Ministry of Works, Communications and Transport and capacity-building for national and external debt management.

The development of a national export strategy to promote economic diversification and an emergency post-disaster scholarship and skills development programme were also part of the assistance programme. Hurricane Ivan, which swept over Grenada on September 7, 2004, left 29 people dead and damages estimated at US$815 million -- which represented some 200 per cent of the country's gross national product.

About 80 per cent of housing stock was damaged, and there was severe infrastructural damage to education and health buildings and to services. The agricultural sector was destroyed, and 90 per cent of forest lands and watershed were damaged or destroyed.