Third picket against closing of Dunbars Station to be staged outside Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday, Cabinet day

For a third consecutive week, a picket will be held in protest of the
Gaston Browne Administration’s plans to transform the Dunbars
Agricultural Station into a housing development.

On Wednesday, January 17, faithful nationals and concerned citizens
once again will bear placards – this time taking their messages
outside the Prime Minister’s Office, specifically the Factory Road
entrance, at 8 a.m.

This is the day on which the Executive usually holds its weekly
meeting. Accordingly, the picketers and residents opposed to the
Cabinet decision are expecting to attract the attention of the
ministers, and hoping they will be moved to reverse their decision
on Dunbars. 

This has been the objective of the pickets held over the past two
weeks.

There continues to be concern about food security and food
sovereignty, as experts and practitioners have gone on record to

speak of the importance of Dunbars to both aspects of the
agriculture sector.

Dunbars is considered important due to its diverse soil types, and it
is valued as a research station for other Caribbean islands.
It is also home to one of the weather stations of the Antigua and
Barbuda Meteorological Services (MET).

The Government has said it might relocate the Dunbars operations
to Bethesda. However, the workers are still uncertain about their
future since the countryside location reportedly is in no condition to
accommodate them.

Meanwhile, the relocation of the Ministry of Agriculture – from
Independence Avenue and Queen Elizabeth Highway to the former
NTTC Building on Nugent Avenue – has been postponed, according
to a notice coming out of that ministry, and business will continue to
be conducted at its current location.