Dominica's new Agricultural Land Lease Facility offers young farmers affordable land to boost agricultural development and entrepreneurship.
Dominica: The Government of Dominica has shared the launch of an Agricultural Land Lease Facility that allows young farmers, groups, agri-enterprises to rent land for agricultural development, boosting the nation’s production whilst creating entrepreneurship opportunities for the youths.
Earlier on January 14th, members of Cabinet approved this Agricultural Land Lease Facility which is aimed at providing young people with affordable land access and the opportunity to invest in agriculture as well as empower them to build sustainable businesses. This decision is said to be part of the government’s commitment under the 2025/2026 budget to encourage investment in agriculture, aquaculture, mariculture, agro-processing, and forestry.
This programme will provide farmers with access to 300 acres of agricultural state owned land across different locations which will be leased at EC$ 1.00 per acre per year. The government has shared that the lease terms will be for five years and should be for agricultural purposes only.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit took to Facebook to share an informative flyer of the lease facility’s terms and conditions, land locations, eligible applicants and activities. He has urged the young farmers and groups to take initiative and apply in numbers.
“Apply online today and take the next step in your agricultural journey,” wrote Prime Minister Skerrit in his post.
The government has classified that only young farmers interested in agricultural investment, farmer groups, cooperatives and agri-enterprises will be eligible to apply for the lease. Moreover, the property size will be 1-5 acres with the list of eligible activities including: crop production, livestock farming, aquaculture, beekeeping, horticulture and agro-processing.
The available lands for this initiative will be across several different communities with each location offering varying acreages to support diverse agricultural investments.
The available land locations and capacity for each area will be:
Newfoundland Estate – 50 acres
Londonderry Estate – 100 acres
Woodfordhill–Mango Gutter – 50 acres
Wesley–Logon/Burton Area – 25 acres
Morne Prosper – 10 acres
Charlotte Valley – 5 acres
Savanne York – 25 acres
Williams Settlement – 10 acres
Wotten Waven – 10 acres
Blenheim Estate – 100 acres
Point Mulatre Estate – Fond Thomas – 70 acres
Hertford Estate – Warner – 15 acres
Richmond Estate – Castle Bruce – 10 acres
All interested applicants are urged to register at https://landlease.agriculture.gov.dm/.