The Ministry of Agriculture is embarking on a new research programme to determine the reasons that small farmers are migrating from rural communities.
Speaking at a farmers’ market at Graeme Hall, Christ Church, Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer Leslie Brereton said farmers migrated from rural areas in search of better self-improvement opportunities but stressed that rural development could be the answer to the issue.
“Rural development could address the root causes of migration, including poverty, food insecurity, inequality, unemployment, lack of social protection and natural resource depletion due to climate change.”
Brereton added that the ministry had a unique role to play in relation to rural migration by assisting in the improvement of agricultural production and productivity. He said small farmers contributed greatly to food security in the island and when a number of them migrate to urban areas or out of the country it created a vacuum. (SB)
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