NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (July 22, 2020) — Hon. Alexis Jeffers, Deputy Premier of Nevis and Minister of Agriculture, says the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) is in the process of utilising Prospect as the focal point for most agriculture-related activities.

The minister made mention of the plan when he visited the construction site of a new cold storage facility at the Prospect Experimental Station on July 21, 2020. The new facility will replace the smaller storage facility used by the Marketing Division in Charlestown.

“We have the Abattoir which is not too far from us. The Veterinary Services are here and the main office. We also have our Chemical Testing Lab. We also do plant propagation here at Prospect. We are looking down the road, further in the near future in terms of bringing in any additional processing facilities in Prospect, and of course I did not mention the Agro Processing Unit.

“So, in essence we are trying to centralise our whole operation so that we can have a one-stop-shopping type atmosphere to do what they want to do when they interact with the Department of Agriculture,” he said.

Mr. Jeffers noted that the decision to centralise activities related to agriculture came after they had looked into what has been done in the past and what continues to be done, with a view to making stakeholder’s interaction with the ministry and department easier.

The Agriculture Minister added that the construction of the storage facility in Prospect, is in keeping with their vision to centralise agriculture operations on the island.