Barbudan farmers grateful for troughs

Chairman of the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee of the Barbuda Council, Kendra Beazer, said that farmers on the sister isle are thankful for the troughs donated to them.
“The farmers openly expressed gratitude and the Barbuda Council agriculture department was also pleased to be a part of the initiative. We decided to distribute most of the troughs to our local registered livestock farmers and the remainder were placed at public wells,” Beazer explained.
He added that farmers on the hurricane-ravaged and drought-stricken island had expressed the need for durable water storage equipment during a previously held farmers registration workshop. He said that several farmers had indicated that they suffered losses of livestock and crops due to the severe drought conditions that have prevailed over the island for quite a while.
The troughs were requested by the Humane Society of Antigua on behalf of the famers in Barbuda. Twenty-two troughs were donated by the international nonprofit animal welfare organisation, World Animal Protection.
President of the humane society, Karen Corbin, said that the placement of the troughs will assist in keeping donkey and horses out of Codrington. She said that at the moment, these animals are creating mayhem in the residential area by knocking over drums and chewing downed spouting. According to her, the animals smell the water and follow the scent out of the village.
She added that each trough holds 320 gallons of water and divulged that the Barbuda Council will be responsible for refilling them. She asserted that the troughs are a win-win for both the villagers and the animals since the villagers will be happy to get the animals out of the village and the animals will now have the water they so desperately need.
She also highlighted the expensive undertaking of shipping the troughs, citing that each trough cost approximately US $300, but the ground transportation alone in the United States exceeded the cost of the troughs themselves. However, the Humane Society was very fortunate to have received aid from local businessman, Rob Barrett, who brought the troughs from Florida to Antigua in one of his containers.
The troughs were then shipped over to Barbuda via barge.
She said that the entire process was a big undertaking, but it was worth it, especially when she saw the gratitude on the faces of the Barbudan farmers.