Assistance to acquire Budget Support European Union
As part of their mission to assist the Public Entity St. Eustatius to acquire budget support from the European Union, consultants Jan van Kamp and Sef Maessen conducted a stakeholder workshop. The target group for the stakeholder workshop were Statians involved in the farming and fisheries sector. In addition, training sessions on the procedural requirements of the programme were provided for staff members of the Public Entity.
The stakeholder workshop took place on Thursday, April 7th and Friday, April 8th, 2022. Problems affecting the agricultural sector and ways to overcome them were discussed. Based on the outcome of this workshop, activities will be chosen to further develop the agricultural sector on Statia.
EU Budget
The EU budget support training took place from Monday, April 11th through Thursday, April 14th, 2022. EU Budget Support is a method for providing development finance that respects the autonomy of the recipient, because funding is transferred directly to the accounts of the Public Entity as a contribution to the realisation of development goals set by the local government itself. The Public Entity will use this money towards achieving the policy goal for the agricultural sector 2022 - 2027, which is to strengthen a sustainable food system that provides food security on the island. The provision of water for agriculture and the development of market access are key elements in this policy. Further financial assistance towards Statia attaining this goal will be requested from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality (LNV), the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) and from Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate and from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Netherlands.
The training was closed with a small ceremony in the CNSI building where the participants received their certificates.
