GIS National Focus - May 5, 2026

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:05][music] [music] >> Hello and welcome to National Focus for Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. I am Kervia John.

[00:00:40]In the headlines, agriculture ministry prioritizes restoring farmers' livelihoods.

[00:00:46]A warning that climate change heightens Dominica's vulnerability.

[00:00:50]And final stadium light pole installed at Windsor Park.

[00:00:54]The details of the headline stories and more when we return. I love the freedom when [music] I'm out there.

[00:01:01]Simply put, the worries from shore.

[00:01:04]None of that out there. [music] And it's my daily bread. I learned it from my dad.

[00:01:08]My dad is one of the senior guys here who catch the biggest fish around here.

[00:01:12]>> [music] >> And he's top with the red snappers. It's a family thing. I'm the only one fishing right now in the family. Just keeping it going.

[00:01:19]I enjoy bringing them up, man.

[00:01:21]Sometimes you have a yellowfin [music] tuna, 400 lbs.

[00:01:24]Man, let me tell you that's just a joy out there. I enjoy going out there and just hauling the big fish. I don't leave with solid fish.

[00:01:32]The morning of my [music] fishing trip, I would get up, make a little spicy.

[00:01:36]Then I come down here.

[00:01:37]I have my GPS, which most fishermen is supposed to have that. [music] Normally, I prepare it the day before.

[00:01:42]Because whenever you going out there, you must have ice. Ice is a must for preservation of the fish. [music] So, I always make sure I have everything the day before. My fish represents me. And I bring good quality fish ashore simply because >> [music] >> the restaurant themselves, they have to show a quality product.

[00:01:56]Tourism and agriculture go hand in hand, that's what I think. We're all connected. It's It's like a big [music] machine and I'm just so proud to be a part of it. My name is Brandon Carlisle and tourism [music] is my business.

[00:02:13]>> [music] >> Welcome back.

[00:02:19]Farmers in Salibia and Atkinson met with officials from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture on Friday to discuss the impact of the recent crop system on their farms and livelihoods.

[00:02:30]Parliamentary Representative for the Salibia constituency, Honorable Cozier Frederick, who is also Minister for the Environment and Kalinago Upliftment, was among officials present at the meeting.

[00:02:41]He was accompanied by permanent secretaries from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture.

[00:02:46]But I realize also an important thing is the importance of of you the farmers who have livelihoods.

[00:02:52]And land itself is what is most important for for your farming enterprise.

[00:02:57]Whether it's a backyard garden, whether it is some some um some months you have nearly vegetables, whether it's also it's a side of hill with planting, whatever it is, land is so important. And in the in the last the last um few days we saw the serious slippage of land.

[00:03:15]So, that's a serious concern for me as a member of parliament for Salibia constituency.

[00:03:19]And because definitely we'll see that I have seen in firsthand view that some land had had moved, some crops have been destroyed.

[00:03:28]And so the the the idea this afternoon is to have a conversation with you.

[00:03:33]A candid, an honest, a fair conversation, but I'm hoping also a very respectful conversation of how you see your part in helping to solve some of the problems.

[00:03:46]Honorable Frederick told farmers that it was not enough to only outline the challenges they are facing, but also to make recommendations as to how these challenges can be addressed.

[00:03:57]We have the experts here from the Ministry of Agriculture.

[00:04:00]Um what I realized in in the past in in number of meetings, people come in and they give a list of problems.

[00:04:07]And they say, "What are the authorities doing?"

[00:04:10]I I don't think that's a good approach at all.

[00:04:13]I I I beg to differ. My ancestors, all of us ancestors, will be part of the solution and not listing our the problems and saying, "My dear sir, meeting now must have your coffee."

[00:04:24]That that for me is it's uh it's not a good approach. I think all of us in our own little we have a solution.

[00:04:31]So, the idea here this afternoon is to talk about the the issues that that we are faced with, but also to to give strong enough solutions that the officers here and myself can take back um to to to respectful um divisions, departments, so we can solve the problems.

[00:04:49]Among the key issues discussed were concerns over land instability and crop damage. Also, we have people who have crops in the ground that are destroyed.

[00:04:57]How are they going to survive for the next couple weeks with nothing to sell and to make money from? Also importantly, how are we going to treat with all of the inputs and materials that you need?

[00:05:07]Um I'm all always thinking that um it is so important to look at people, how it affects their lives. So, that's why we have these meetings happen. So, the meeting is about you.

[00:05:16]And so, be honest, be candid. Um ask the ask the the proper questions, the strong the strong questions in a respectful way.

[00:05:23]Uh and this is a this is a this meeting is specifically targeted for the agricultural sector.

[00:05:29]So, something normally we would talk about we talk about roads, we talk about um I would talk about small business, we talk about tourism, but today is agriculture. Let's keep it real, cuz you all all of you are farmers and you have food in the ground.

[00:05:44]Food that is destroyed. Lands that you was you were planning to something on that he may have cleared already and then that that is gone.

[00:05:52]Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ann Anslem, says the role of the Ministry is to ensure food and nutrition security.

[00:06:00]Addressing trough-affected farmers in Sally Bay and Atkinson, Mr. Anslem noted that the goal is to return farmers to a position where they can once again provide for their families and sustain their livelihoods. So, the Ministry is putting what we call an emergency rapid livelihood program together.

[00:06:19]And we say rapid because we want you to come back on your feet quickly. As your paragraph say, you may have lost some income, you have lost a crop, but that is what flood does.

[00:06:34]Landslide, erosion, and your crops wash away, even your livestock, your feed, your medication for your feed. We are aware of that.

[00:06:44]And so, the Ministry of Agriculture, what we will do in the weeks to come is to provide you with some input support.

[00:06:53]That input support will be fertilizer, nutrient, and what we are saying is we know when there is a flood that most of your nutrients will be washed away.

[00:07:08]And the nutrient support we going to we going to give in the form of um limes um to bring back the the the the structure of of the soil. And we are not going to give you NPK right away, we going to give you what we call limestone lime, so it will build up build back the structure of the soil.

[00:07:27]Um so, we barely force, um we don't have this on island, we have to order it, but that is the process.

[00:07:34]Mr. Anslem says the critical objective now is the restoration of farmers' livelihoods. The crops that we are seeing that was damaged, tree crop, we see some vegetables and root crops, your cassava, some of these crops have been washed away.

[00:07:51]We will put a program in place to restore these crops.

[00:07:55]But what we are seeing, the restoration cannot take place 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 [cough] weeks because there are cracks, there are landslides, there are various implications that um that that that that that can impact our intervention.

[00:08:14]So, we're going to work with you individually, case by case, to see how we can assist you.

[00:08:22]And the key word for the Ministry of Agriculture is restoration of your livelihood.

[00:08:27]The point I want to make, the Ministry of Agriculture has program development program. As you know, we construct a new abattoir. We have a citrus certification. And we'll talk to you about that, how you can expand your production. But today, we are talking about restoration of your livelihood. He noted that the Chinese Technical Mission is playing a key role in supporting that recovery by providing seedlings to farmers. Cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, that can be made available to you.

[00:08:57]But what we are saying, we don't want you to plant in the high-risk areas. No sense I give you lettuce and you go and you plant it in the soil that is going to be eroding.

[00:09:07]So, we have to work with you and assess your situation farm by farm.

[00:09:13]Another area that we're going to support is your animal feed. I spoke to the children and I wasn't really aware of the high cost of the animal feed.

[00:09:23]And I see my good friend Tony Serio from I can um and there I mean, we we have to really do something about the high cost of animal feed. But we are doing something about it.

[00:09:35]We are building a brand new animal feed, but that will not be ready for our program. But just to say the Ministry of Agriculture will support you in rapid animal feed. We are not going to give you animal feed for for expansion, but emergency and to take care of your livestock. We understood that you have layers and you have broilers. We'll help you in that area.

[00:10:02]Mr. Anselm further noted that efforts will first focus on getting farmers back onto their lands. We also saw some blockage of feeder roads.

[00:10:13]And so our preoccupation is to provide access to your farm.

[00:10:19]And so we will work with the Ministry of Public Works to give that priority for access to your farm. We need you to access your farm so you can go back and plant your food and we will assist you and also to harvest your food your your your your production.

[00:10:36]And we will work with DEXIA to give you priority so DEXIA will buy all your produce so you can have a livelihood.

[00:10:45]Prime Minister the Honorable Roosevelt Skerrit says the recent trough system is another reminder of the growing vulnerability of small island states like Dominica to the effects of climate change. Last week the Prime Minister met with residents of the Salybia and Castle Bruce constituencies who were impacted by the April 26th trough system which brought heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides to communities in the northeast.

[00:11:09]What I was going to remind us all as a country that we don't lose focus on the battle that countries like Dominica have been fighting in the international community to stop what we call climate change.

[00:11:33]Climate is an existential threat to countries like ours.

[00:11:41]And the reality is, notwithstanding all of our activism in the global community, whether at the United Nations or conference of the party speaking of climate change, the developed countries are not taking their responsibilities.

[00:11:59]And owning up to the responsibilities of one, taking action to mitigate against the impacts and causes of climate change.

[00:12:08]And secondly, providing us as countries in the world, in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Africa, with the resources required to restore livelihoods, to put in place mitigation measures, to mitigate against the impact of climate change. Prime Minister Skerrit says the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across Dominica and other Caribbean islands is a clear indication of the growing impact of climate change.

[00:12:39]All of us here living Dominica, and we know that 15, 20 years ago, rain would fall for a whole week and nothing would happen. It would straight into the river.

[00:12:50]The only thing we'd see happen is that the sea would get brown.

[00:12:55]But today in Dominica and St. Lucia and St. Vincent, all mountainous countries, whenever we have rain, we have a flood warning and a flood watch.

[00:13:06]We did not used to know about flood warning and flood watch in Dominica before.

[00:13:10]And the scientists have said to us that natural disasters will come more frequently and more ferociously.

[00:13:20]The Prime Minister has also raised concerns over signs of land instability in the community, including visible cracks and shifting earth that could pose a serious risk to residents.

[00:13:30]But even in the Kalinago territory, I was saying to some of you that this is why we have taken a decision to invite um some experts to come and study the situation for us because we recognize that that that there is a fault that happened in the Mal River by the health center.

[00:13:48]And if you go to the Catholic cemetery in the Kalinago territory, you will see that the land is sinking.

[00:13:56]There's no no There's no living right there.

[00:13:59]And there's no housing development there.

[00:14:01]He says some of Dominica's environmental challenges are being worsened by human activity, citing deforestation and poor land use practices as factors that increase the country's vulnerability during extreme weather events.

[00:14:14]In many instances, we cut many trees in Dominica.

[00:14:18]Trees that should not be cut, we cut them.

[00:14:20]Where we should not be building homes where we do agriculture, we build homes there. And so we have those practices.

[00:14:26]We also add to it.

[00:14:29]My advice to us is to also focus on the challenge that we're confronted and what we need to do together to ensure that all of us can withstand these storms better.

[00:14:43]And in the event that these storms come, that we can bounce back faster.

[00:14:49]You're watching National Focus. More when we return.

[00:14:57]Welcome back.

[00:14:59]The installation of the last of four light poles took place at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium today.

[00:15:04]The $14 million project, which started in July 2025, went through some unforeseen delays, but now brings joy to the Minister for Youth and Sports, Honorable Gretta Roberts. I rejoice because this is a long-awaited project.

[00:15:18]This is a project that we promised to the that would come through. It took some time, but promise kept. The lights are up, the poles are up, and I am just happy to be there today to witness this.

[00:15:32]Of course, I know all Dominicans are looking forward to that, but it's government's reaffirming its commitment to delivering to the growth and development of sports in Dominica.

[00:15:47]I know now we can look forward to events taking place here, cricket matches, football matches, but even apart from sports, I'm looking forward to independence celebrations because with this lights on, as the contractor said, it's like turning night into day.

[00:16:05]So, I'm looking forward to this with great excitement.

[00:16:09]She thanked the contractors for the work that they have done on the lighting project. I want to thank the contractors, of course, because it was a lot of pressure on them to deliver, and they have delivered, as you can see, the final pole is up. So, everything is working according to plan. So, I just want to thank them, and of course, to thank the government of Dominica for coming through with a $14 million project, and every Dominican can see today that it has worked out just as we planned. So, I thank God for this. I thank God for the government, and I thank God for Dominicans who were willing to just relax and wait for this to happen. So, thank you so much. The four poles together hold a 300 lamps with 75 lights per pole.

[00:16:58]The system can carry 1,650 W of power or half a megawatt of electricity.

[00:17:05]The project was undertaken by Proverb International from Canada.

[00:17:09]Project manager Mr. Mayank Walia says each pole has a 70-hour lifespan. He emphasized the importance of maintenance.

[00:17:17]To facilitate the lights correctly, just like anything, it's important to maintain them and use them regularly.

[00:17:24]So, to increase maintenance efficiency, we have actually installed elevator-style systems on our poles, which allow people to go to the top, do their cleaning and their servicing, and then come back to the bottom.

[00:17:37]He says the system is stable enough to withstand extreme weather events. Our foundations were actually designed to withstand high wind loads. We have a 32 by 32 ft foundation, which goes 10 ft into the ground, and we use the same quality of concrete that is used in bridges and in dams, which is 4,500 psi.

[00:17:58]And each pole has 40 anchor bolts in it, which go about half a meter and a half into the foundation.

[00:18:05]So, we have the utmost amount of stability for our poles.

[00:18:09]And now, your weather updates.

[00:18:11]A high-pressure system is expected to support a relatively dry atmosphere during the next 24 hours.

[00:18:17]Low-level clouds moving within the wind flow may lead to occasionally cloudy skies with brief showers.

[00:18:23]Gusty winds can also be expected at times.

[00:18:26]A slight increase in Saharan dust is expected today.

[00:18:30]People with respiratory sensitivities should take the necessary precautions to avoid the complications.

[00:18:36]Sea conditions are expected to be slight to moderate during the next 24 hours.

[00:18:40]Wave heights are forecast to peak near 5 ft along the eastern coast and near 3 ft along the western coast.

[00:18:47]Meanwhile, the first tropical wave of the season will be moving across the extreme southern portion of the island chain today into Wednesday.

[00:18:54]A second wave is currently located in the eastern Atlantic.

[00:18:58]And that's all for this edition of National Focus. Be sure to follow GIS Dominica on Facebook, YouTube, and on Twitter. You can also drop us an email at [email protected].

[00:19:10]From all of us here on the GIS news production team, I am Khadija John.

[00:19:14]Thank you for watching and remember to stay safe.