Farmers and fishers awarded nearly $400K in grants

Premier Dr Natalio Whealtley engages with this agricultural worker at the recently held Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition and Market. Photo by Andre ‘Shadow’ Dawson

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley announced on Friday that 35 farmers and fishers in the Virgin Islands have been approved to receive nearly $400,000 under the government’s new Agriculture and Fisheries Grant Programme, marking the first round of awards under the initiative. 

Dr Wheatley made the announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition and Market, where he said the government had received 143 applications in total.

Of those, 18 farmers and 17 fishers were approved by a committee authorised by Cabinet.

“The 35 approved farmers and fishers will receive a total of $388,826.66,” Wheatley stated. 

He said the approved sum represents only part of a wider projected government investment of $500,000 in the programme this year.

Payments will be made directly to vendors

Payments, he added, will not be made directly to awardees, but to the vendors named in the successful applications.

“To ensure transparency and proper use of funds, payments will be made directly to the vendors identified within the approved applications,” Wheatley stated. 

The Premier said the grant programme is intended to help farmers and fishers secure equipment, infrastructure and other resources needed to improve production and get goods to market. He said the assistance would cover needs ranging from “gardening tools and fishing nets to access roads, boats, and animal pens”. 

Premier Wheatley also used the ceremony to point to other government-backed agriculture and fisheries projects, including lands allocated at Paraquita Bay for farming, continuing work on the Agriculture and Fisheries Complex and reservoir, and the design phase for a Fisheries Landing Site at the Omar Wallace Hodge Fishermen’s Wharf and Park. 

The announcement comes after earlier government efforts to support the sector in recent years. In 2025, a new grants policy was finalised and funds earmarked for assistance to farmers and fishers.

Earlier, in 2020, the government said it would monitor grants issued controversially to fisherfolk and farmers under a separate support initiative launched during the COVID-19 period. 

Calling for public support, Dr Wheatley urged residents and businesses to buy local produce. “When you support local food producers, you strengthen our economy, you reduce our vulnerability, and you help preserve the traditions that have shaped our identity,” Dr Wheatley stated. 

He said the exhibition and market should help inspire the next generation and strengthen efforts to build “a stronger, more sustainable food system for the Virgin Islands”.