The Ministry of Agriculture is constructing and rehabilitating a major dam as part of efforts to improve water access for farmers and increase agricultural production.

Agriculture Minister Anthony Smith Jr. said farmers Browne and Thwaites are among the latest beneficiaries of the infrastructure programme.

“The Ministry continues its work to strengthen agricultural infrastructure and support our farmers across Antigua and Barbuda,” Smith said in a social media post Tuesday.

He said the dam is being built and reconstructed to provide greater water-storage capacity and support increased production.

Smith said the work will continue in other farming districts, with the ministry addressing infrastructure needs and providing additional support to producers.

The project forms part of a broader government push to improve agricultural water infrastructure. Cabinet previously directed the Agriculture Ministry to accelerate the construction and rehabilitation of dams, ponds and other water-catchment facilities, citing reliable water supplies as critical to increasing local food production.

The government has also said Antigua and Barbuda secured approximately

US$9 million

through a Caribbean Development Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization soil and water management programme to support dams, water-catchment ponds and other conservation infrastructure.

Smith said the ministry intends to continue moving through farming districts to improve infrastructure and help farmers increase output.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Agriculture Ministry Rebuilds Major Dam to Boost Water Supply for Antigua and Barbuda Farmers.