Over a 30-year period, on the advice of Her Majesty’s Grenada Ministers, Queen Elizabeth II has awarded 54 men and women for their service and contribution to agriculture, farming, fishing, agro-processing, horticulture, shipwright, seafaring, sugar, bananas, and poultry.
Grenada, our farmers and fisherfolk are doing their part to put food on our plates and we must be proud that they are being publicly acknowledged across the Commonwealth. I commend the nominating committee for including agriculture and fisheries for these awards, and for recognising and acknowledging these stalwarts in our communities. Our nation should be inspired by our homegrown heroes and motivated to grow what we eat, and eat what we grow.
This is the awardee list from 1987 – 2021 as taken from the London Gazette. The awards are
- CBE: Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- OBE: Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- MBE: Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- BEM: British Empire Medal
2021 BEM Thaddeus Claudius Pierre. For services to agriculture.
2019 MBE Theresa Marryshow. For services to farming.
2017 BEM Jarvis Kelvin Paul Lawrence. For services to horticulture and business.
2017 BEM Norbert Carlvin Simon. For services to the fishing industry.
2016 BEM Reginald Sparks. For services to farming.
2015 BEM Paul R. A. Jeremiah. For services to farming.
2010 BEM Faith Jessamy. For public service training and farming.
2010 BEM Ken Licorish. For services to agriculture.
2009 BEM John Francis. For services to farming.
2007 BEM Norris Marshall. For services to farming.
2007 BEM Godwin Michael Williams. For services to agriculture.
2006 BEM Leo St John. For services to fishing.
2006 CBE Otterson Frederick. For services to fishing.
2003 BEM Daul Aldrica Douglas. For services to farming.
2003 BEM Norma Kathleen McLeish. For services to farming.
2002 BEM Joseph Eric Barriteau. For service to the fishing industry.
2002 BEM Cebert Bernadine. For service to the fishing industry.
2002 BEM Mardge Holas. For service to agriculture.
2002 BEM McLeish Langaigne. For service to the agro-processing business.
2001 BEM Stressman McDonald Thomas. For services to the fishing industry.
2001 CBE Lennard Augustine. For services to the fishing industry.
2001 BEM Thomas Benjamin. For services to the farming industry.
2001 BEM Paul McIntosh. For services to the farming industry.
2001 BEM James Sylvester. For services to the farming industry.
2000 MBE Dr Reginald Buckmire. For services to agricultural development.
2000 BEM Irvin Sonnel Allert. For services to fishing and culture.
2000 BEM Ivan Purcell. For services to agriculture.
2000 BEM Lawrence Craymond Paryag. For services to agricultural development.
1999 BEM Julien Charles. For services to the fishing industry.
1999 BEM Cyprian Thaddeus Gibbs. For services to farming.
1999 BEM Sydney De Costa Law. For services to agriculture.
1998 BEM Clayton James De Roche. For services to the fishing industry.
1998 BEM Guy Osmond Archibald. For services to poultry farming.
1998 BEM Daniel Hypolite. For services to farming.
1997 BEM Cosmos Forrester. For services to agriculture.
1997 BEM Augustus Williams. For services to the fishing community.
1997 BEM Sarah Joseph-Mathura. For services to farming and small business.
1997 BEM Patrick David Lawrence. For services to farming.
1996 MBE Michael Bernard Noel. For services to agriculture (particularly to the banana industry).
1995 OBE Orgias Campbell. For services to the development of agriculture.
1994 OBE Samuel Joseph. For services to agriculture.
1993 OBE Reynold Lewis Francis Benjamin. For services to agriculture.
1993 BEM Andrew Martin Frank. For services to farming.
1993 BEM Desmond Martin. For services to fishing.
1993 MBE James Delcasse Campbell. For services to farming.
1992 CBE Edward Roy Kent. For services to agriculture.
1992 BEM Rupert Peters. For services to agriculture.
1991 MBE Naaman Joseph Lewis. For services to agriculture.
1991 BEM Samuel Patrice Olive. For services to fishing and agriculture.
1990 MBE Hezekiah Cromwell. For services to the sugar industry.
1989 BEM Abraham James. For services to farming.
1989 BEM Braveman Nicholas John September. For services to agriculture.
1987 BEM Anthony Augustine Lewis. For services as a shipwright and seafarer.
1987 BEM Durrant Beethoven Joseph. For services as a shipwright and fisherman.
To our young people, agriculture and fisheries are just the headlines of two vast and inter-connected sectors that offer opportunities for new approaches for food sustainability, medicine and healthcare, to combat climate change, to reduce poverty, and to save the world.
As we began a new decade tomorrow, 1 January 2021, and usher in the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables as designated by the United Nations, I go on record to congratulate Mr Thaddeus Claudius Pierre recently awarded a BEM (British Empire Medal) for services to agriculture. Mr Pierre joins this august list of awardees who represent the many generations who have contributed to Grenada’s food security and to the economic development of this country, providing direct and indirect jobs to secure leakages of our foreign exchange.
I have known Mr Pierre for over two decades. He is always willing to cooperate and contribute and never looks near. To me, he has the same energy as many years ago, and he is not ready to give up. He has provided significant jobs on his acreage, and is an agri-preneur for the ages. Mr Pierre is a noble example for the good things happening in agriculture and others will be encouraged to follow in his footsteps. I pray God would keep him and his family and workers safe.
In closing, I thank all our farmers and fisherfolk for their resilience during 2020, and wish them strength and health for a productive new year, so they can continue to feed us in 2021 and beyond.
