$450 Million Redirected to Emergency Recovery of Agriculture Sector

A sum of $450 million from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Minning’s remaining Production Incentive Programme is being redirected to emergency recovery, including replanting, restocking, and land preparation.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (November 11).

The sum is part of a larger $3-billion plan to be rolled out for the sector, which has suffered $29.5 billion in losses from Hurricane Melissa.

He said that the full detail of the plan will be outlined in short order.

“This week we will start the distribution of $40 million worth of seeds through our Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Network across our various production zones,” Mr. Green said.

Additionally, another $80 million has been allocated for emergency procurement with $50 million for seeds and $30 million for agro chemicals.

The RADA Tractor Service will provide free land preparation for the next six months to rapidly expand the acres under production.

“Additionally, all seeds and planting material available through our Bodles and RADA nurseries will be free for the next three months. While the hardest-hit western parishes are cleared and repaired, we will focus early planting in the least-affected areas, especially Eastern Jamaica and our Agro-Parks to feed the nation now,” Mr. Green told the House.

He said that the Agro-Investment Corporation will lead an initial wave of planting with 200 acres of sweet pepper, 150 acres of cassava, 150 acres of sweet potato, 200 acres of open-field vegetables, 150 acres of hot pepper, and 150 acres of scallion.

The Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) will be providing an initial $5 million in land preparation for farmers, who occupy SCJ lands.

“We will be making an initial allocation of $10 million to provide urgent support to our apiculture sector, largely through the provision of supplemental feed such as sugar,” Mr. Green said.

Support will also be mobilised through Members of Parliament to registered farmers, with initial allocations to range from $1 million to $3 million depending on the severity of the damage.

“We will undertake emergency repairs to priority farm roads, so that communities are reconnected and produce can move efficiently to market. Strategic Programmes around livestock, including focusing on quickly revitalising our backyard chicken farmers will be prioritised, through an initial allocation of $40 million,” Mr. Green said.

For farmers in agro-parks, the Government will implement a moratorium on lease payments, so that cash-flow pressures are eased while production is restarted.

Regarding fisheries support, Mr. Green said generators have been dispatched to the marine fuel stations in Alligator Pond in St. Elizabeth and Montego Bay, St. James. One will also be dispatched to Great Bay in St. Elizabeth by the end of this week.

Marine fuel stations are also being put in place for Black River and Whitehouse.

Identification (ID) cards and licences that have been reported lost will be reproduced and fishers are urged to report if they have lost their documents.

In addition, a moratorium on licensing and ID fees for six months is being implemented, and this week the Ministry will start a programme of wire, net and rope distribution focusing on beaches where fishers are able to go out.

“We will assist with gear and vessel replacement, clear debris at landing sites, and restore utilities and safe access, so that fishing communities can resume operations quickly,” Mr. Green said.

For irrigation support, the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) has already begun distributing free non-potable water to farmers and farming communities in the worst-affected areas.

“We will also be providing free trucking of water in those critical areas. We will repair and upgrade irrigation systems to ensure reliable water supply,” the Minister said.

On Tuesday, October 28, Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s south-western coast as a category-five system with sustained winds more than 260 kilometres per hour.

The parishes of Westmoreland, St. James, Hanover and St. Elizabeth, which are among the country’s most productive, bore the brunt of the storm, reversing hard-won production gains, and poses immediate risks to food security, price stability and livelihoods.