Commonwealth of Dominica Third Medium-Term Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) 2012-2014.

The Commonwealth of Dominica’s Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) articulates a broad medium-term strategic framework for growth and poverty reduction over the next three years.
The promotion of sustainable growth in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries would be achieved mainly through investing to boost crop production, providing irrigation infrastructure, rehabilitating farm access roads, renewing the citrus rehabilitation programme, establishment of a revolving fund to enable crop and livestock producers, agro-processors and exporters to access affordable credit for enhancement of production, productivity and competitiveness of agribusiness on affordable terms. Further, a Coffee Rehabilitation Programme covering over 1000 acres is to be launched and a coffee plant will be installed soon. In response to identified market demand, the Division is working with the local Pineapple Association to increase production and exports. Efforts are also being made to increase vegetable production and farmers are being encouraged (and supported) to use greenhouses. Support to horticulture includes the provision of fertilizers and other inputs, planting materials and technical assistance. To modernize agriculture efforts will focus on improved utilisation of the agricultural information system, restructuring of the agricultural extension service, and implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) prepared in response to the changes to the European Union’s import regime for bananas and in partial fulfillment for accessing resources under the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) that were prepared by the European Union. In the forestry sector, efforts will focus on maintaining or enhancing the biodiversity and ecological functioning of forests, increasing the area of land covered by forest; and optimizing the contribution of forest resources to livelihoods and to the economy. The support of the fishery sector will focus on improvement of infrastructure, construction of a fiberglass boat building facility, development of a aquaculture programme, and formulation of a regional fisheries plan.
To enable more efficient agricultural and food systems the activities will have to focus on improving the marketing of agricultural produce and encouraging the export of these products in primary or processed forms; assisting in the preparation of investment proposals; improving micro-credit in existing financial institutions for small-scale operators and re-cropping of idle lands; and focusing public investment in agriculture in areas that would elicit or are supportive of private investment. To reduce poverty from the agriculture sector's perspective, especially considering that the decline of the banana industry in the 1990s had a severe economic impact on the livelihoods of many in Dominica, the government recommends a transformation of the agricultural sector through identification of crops for fresh market supplies; technology and processing for small scale agricultural enterprises; extension services and diversification of agricultural production; reinventing the banana model for non-banana agriculture; land reform and family-based enterprises in Dominican agriculture; elaborating corporate arrangements for marketing agricultural produce and promotion of agri-business; and collaboration with local market operators.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters the Government will seek to reduce environmental vulnerability and improve disaster prevention and management, through a combination of risk reduction, impact mitigation and other measures, including effective implementation of the Physical Planning Act and the National Environmental Management Strategy and Action Plan for Dominica. This Plan articulates the environmental management priorities of Dominica and aims at improved management of land and sea space, (forest reserves, national parks, marine parks and diving areas, fisheries conservation zones), waste management, disaster management and mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Other actions include developing disaster management policies and plans; planning for the timely and orderly movement of the population from volcano-threatened areas; designing and implementing a sustained public information and education programme; conducting extensive mitigation activity; establishing a Natural Disaster Contingency Fund; implementation of the Code of Practice for Quarries; capacity-building of the meteorological department; and seeking funding from World Bank funded Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience to support programmes designed to mitigate and strengthen resilience.
Regarding governance, it should be noted that the GSPS is a framework law expected to assist policy formulation and preparation of strategies and plans at the sector level. Ministries, through their departments and agencies, are responsible for implementing and reporting on their strategies, programmes and annual operational plans. The Ministry of Finance has responsibility for laying out its annual fiscal plans and policies, and monitoring their implementation. Regarding monitoring the government will use the indicators suggested in the EU-sponsored Development of a Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) for Dominica’s GSPS.