Caribbean Business Reports

The Government of Grenada on Friday, November 27, 2020, approved a grant in the amount EC$1 million for the Grenada Co-operative Nutmeg Association (GCNA) as part of efforts to provide support to industries negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, the grant forms part of the COVID-19 Emergency Stimulus Plan  for the GCNA that totals EC$3 million — EC$1 million for price support to the farmers and EC$2 million in the form of a concessional loan to assist the association with working capital. 

The $1.0 million grant will support the GCNA’s purchase of produce from the farmers, who cannot sell due to a falloff in demand and supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. According to the Government, The association should only use the funds for direct assistance to farmers and not for any other purpose.

“In this context, the grant agreement provides for an audit of the grant to ensure that the funds are used for the intended purpose,” a release from the Government of Grenada outlined.

To date, however, the terms and conditions for the loan component have not yet been finalised, though the expectation is that this will be done by the end of this financial year.

Present at the signing ceremony were representatives from the ministries of finance and agriculture and the GCNA management and board of directors.