Funding to alleviate destruction caused by monkeysBy Monique Washington
The Department of Agriculture received a draft for EC $100,000 on Thursday from the Republic of China (RoC-Taiwan) for“alleviating the human and monkey conflict,” a newly-built composting site and a compost mulch machine. The donation was part of three RoC drafts received from His Excellence Chiou Gow-Wei by Premier of Nevis Hon. Vance Amory, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Mark Brantley and Minister of Agriculture Hon. Alexis Jeffers.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Hon. Jeffers thankedthe ROC and His Excellence Chiou Gow-Wei for the continued contributionsfor Agricultural projects in Nevis. Hon. Jeffers acknowledged the on-going problems Nevisian farmers are facing with the monkeys.
“The farmers are growing it [crops} and the monkeys are eating it,”Hon. Jeffers said. He added that although the monkey problem is a critical, “we have not been ideal or have thrown up our hands in saying there is nothing that can be done. We keep trying. The check that will be handed over will certainly go a long way in the alleviation of the conflict that famers face on the island.”
His excellence Chiou Gow-Wei,during brief remarks, said that during his many visits to the island he noticed the damage the monkeys have done.
“No matter how hard I have seen the farmers here work over the years, there has always been a monkey problem,” H.E. Gow-Wei said. “The conflict between the human and the monkey is a very important issue in St Kitts and Nevis.”
H.E. Gow-Wei explained the second “very important” reason for the ceremony, the composting site.
“Farmers would not have to pay too much to buy the chemicals fertilizers, you can use compost,” the official said. “It can sustain your farming. We are not just here to introduce the compost site. Our technicians are also here to show you how to use or make one similar.”
He said that besides being cheaper than fertilizers, compost is safer for the environment as everything that is used in the compost is natural.
Hon. Mark Brantley said in brief remarks, the NIA has been“working very closely and I want to publicly commend Mr. Jeffers for never abandoning the quest for a solution in alleviating the human and monkey conflict.”
“We have a unique problem because farmers see the monkeys in one way and the farmers see them in another way and we depend on both,” Hon. Brantley said.
He revealed the monkey problem will take about three years to alleviate and will cost EC $100,000. He added that a primate expert from South Africa will also be assisting in the matter.
In closing remarks, Premier Amory pointed out that the “crippling” monkey problem began about 15 years ago. He encouraged farmers, “Please take advantage of the opportunity to make a change in direction in the way we cultivate our agriculture in Nevis.”
He commended the Republic of China on their initiative and said “the compost training site and mulching machine are very welcomed additions to what we are doing in agriculture.”
