Agriculture Ministry Assists Thousands of Farmers
October 8, 2024
Photo: JIS File
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, addresses the St. James Bee Farmers Association's Healthy Lifestyle Day ceremony, held at the St. James RADA Office in Catherine Hall on Thursday, October 3.The Full Story
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has supplied approximately 19,000 farmers with critical inputs, to include seeds and fertilisers to support their recovery efforts following the impact of Hurricane Beryl on July 3.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure while addressing the St. James Bee Farmers Association’s Healthy Lifestyle Day ceremony, held at the St. James RADA Office in Catherine Hall on Thursday, October 3.
Mr. Green also indicated that the Ministry has started the distribution of 57,000 broiler chicks across the hardest-hit parishes, including Clarendon, Manchester and Saint Elizabeth, noting that the country lost about 300,000 chickens during the hurricane.
“We will start the distribution of pullets or layer chickens because, again, we did lose a lot of layers. We have heard from our egg farmers that they are looking at some contraction in terms of production numbers. We’re going to help our egg farmers rebound,” Mr. Green said.
“So, we’ve already earmarked about 50,000 pullets that will be distributed over the next month to help our egg farmers get back out there,” he added.
In the meantime, the Minister said a key innovation in the recovery plan is the allocation of $26 million towards rebuilding chicken coops.
He outlined that many poultry farmers lost not only their chickens, but also the coops.
Mr. Green said that the Ministry recognises that the recovery efforts require more than just replenishing livestock, and as such, is ensuring that farmers have the proper facilities to grow.
“So, we’ll put $26 million for chicken infrastructure, and we’re helping people build back their infrastructure, so that they can get back into our poultry sector,” the Ministry said.
The second annual St. James Bee Farmers Association’s Healthy Lifestyle Day was organised in collaboration with RADA and the St. James Health Department.
It featured bee farmers from across the parish who displayed an array of honey products and by-products.