00:00An increase in the complement of Pradia Lasni officers from 34 in 2022 to 101 at
00:07present. The refurbishment of two offices and a dormitory and four new
00:12vehicles in this fiscal year are some of the actions highlighted by Minister
00:16Qasim Hussein towards strengthening the Pradia Lasni squad. However, in August
00:22one of the new vehicles was involved in a crash on the priority bus route after
00:27allegedly running a red light and according to Hussein was subsequently
00:31written off. I want to inform the house that we are the Ministry of Agriculture
00:36especially legal department has taken a serious stand on this when you drive a
00:43vehicle you're supposed to take care of it and since then they have taken a
00:48decision to dismiss the Pradia Lasni officer. The action has also been
00:56taken on how monies could be recovered for this vehicle. The minister says
01:01Pradia Lasni remains a serious concern but he gives an assurance that his squad
01:06is working providing statistics to back up his claim. They conducted two thousand
01:12three hundred and thirty eight patrols, twenty seven thousand nine hundred and
01:19sixteen visits of farm, 2,863 farmer interactions, 156 market visits, 489
01:30farmer visits, received 195 reports, detected 160 offenses, arrested 38 persons
01:40of which several were imprisoned and 24 convictions. On another note Hussein says
01:47the 951.5 million dollars allocation under the consolidated fund and the
01:54infrastructure development fund for 2024 was used to enhance the sector in
01:59several ways including access roads, water management systems, access to
02:04grants and incentives, land tenure, youth and food security were the aim of
02:10reducing the food import bill. He says in 2025 there will be a focus on increasing
02:15productivity, modernizing practices and dealing with the underlying matters
02:20surrounding food security. Hussein outlines that the agriculture
02:24development bank is a major aspect of providing capital for farmers but he
02:28also says from 2019 to present over 300 small and medium farmers have been
02:34recipients of the ministry's agro incentive grants costing over 27
02:39million dollars. Three distributions were done in 2024 to the tune of about 11
02:45million dollars. Just within the last week we receive additional 116 checks
02:52valued at 11 million dollars for distribution and preparations are
02:58currently underway for large distribution again. Hussein states that
03:04in 2025 five fishing communities are being targeted under the development
03:08program to have their infrastructure enhanced.
03:11Blanchiches, Bonasse, Calibe, La Filette and Las Cuevas.
03:17Approximately 314 registered fishermen derive their livelihood from these areas.
03:24Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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