CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Banana officials from the Windward Islands were meeting here on Friday to discuss the future of the Windward Islands Crop Insurance scheme.
The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of a fifth consecutive year of operational losses.
The company said that its financial reserves have dwindled by more than 68 per cent over the past few years to just over EC$3 million (US$1.11 million).
As a result, officials warn of a bleak future for the continuity of the scheme as have been outlined in the 2005 annual report of the Windward Islands Crop Insurance company (WINCROP).
“We will need to take some hard decisions if we are going to be able to continue protecting farmers,” said Ignatius Jean, St. Lucia’s Agriculture Minister.
He said the objective is to ensure that farmers were secure since insurance assistance is needed for islands within the hurricane belt.
Last year, WINCROP incurred an operating loss of EC$1.47 million (US$544,400) while premium income for the company was the lowest on record due to the non-payment of dues by banana companies.
Jean said that the premiums were recorded as arrears, and that has contributed to the problems now faced by WINCROP.
“The fact that a number of farmers have left the industry it is almost impossible to recover some of those outstanding amounts,” he said.
Delegates attending the WINCROP meeting are recommending that in an effort to address the non-payment of premiums arrangements should be put in place to have the reduction deducted by the Windward Islands Banana Development Company (WIBDECO).
Dominica representative to the meeting, Raybourne Blakemore, said that the deductions should be made mandatory by law as is the case in Dominica.
The other countries in the WINCROP scheme are Grenada, St. Vincent and St Lucia.