Four computers, a new photocopier and furniture for local schools; farm access roads repaired; street lighting installed in a town for the first time; a new community centre bui and a new lawn mower to tame the wild grass at the sports ground, meaning young people can now take part in football, cricket and rounders leagues once again. Regina Joseph, from Dominica in the Caribbean Windward Islands, has a lot to be thankful for, considering the Caribbean banana industry was on the brink of a disastrous collapse not long ago. The Windward Islands used to control 60 per cent of the UK banana market but has seen its share slashed to less than 20 per cent in the last 15 years, due to falling retail prices and the emergence of lower-cost South American producers. Farmer revenues have fallen 83 per cent to just US(dollar)5.3m annually and there are now fewer than 700 remaining farmers from the original 11,000.
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