The government is preparing to roll out a subsidised drip irrigation programme aimed at reducing farming costs and improving water efficiency, Agriculture Minister Anthony Smith Jr. said.

Smith said the initiative, developed in partnership with the Department of Environment and the Central Marketing Corporation (CMC), is designed to address one of the biggest challenges facing farmers in Antigua and Barbuda — access to affordable irrigation.

“We have just launched a project with the Ministry of Environment… to be able to bring in some drip irrigation for us,” he said.

Under the programme, irrigation systems will be imported at reduced cost and made available to farmers at subsidised prices through the CMC.

“We will be able to… sell this to our farmers… for a very, very, very reduced cost,” Smith said.

The minister said the initiative comes as Antigua and Barbuda continues to grapple with dry conditions and the high cost of water management in agriculture.

“I think as well that will go a long way in helping us to reduce the cost of the irrigation system going forward,” he said.

Smith indicated that the rollout is expected to begin shortly, with supplies likely to arrive within weeks.

“I would want to imagine maybe within the next month or so we should be able to start that programme,” he said.

The irrigation push forms part of a wider strategy to strengthen food security by improving productivity, lowering input costs and helping farmers adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.