Above: Agriculture Minister Hilson Baptiste

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda is looking to capitalize on an $8 million grant from China to shore up the country’s agricultural sector, according to Agriculture Minister Hilson Baptiste.

Baptiste recently attended the the recent China-Latin America and the Caribbean Agricultural Ministers Forum in Beijing, where he made a pitch for help on areas like heavy-duty equipment, greenhouse, road construction, soil testing technology and training and implementation equipment.

“The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, is looking forward to deepening the agriculturalco-operation to continue to promote a win-win outcome for the region and contribute to global food security,” Baptiste said.

The grant would come from a $50 million fund.

“The groundwork is already done, so it will be easy to prepare the proposal,” said Jedidiah Maxime, Director of Agriculture. “If the Government of China is willing, we will provide the necessary information to access this help for the farmers.”