Farmers to Benefit from Emancipation Lands/Irrigation System

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has announced a new phase of the government’s emancipation lands programme in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. She said also that $2 Billion will be spent on an islandwide irrigation system.
Mrs. Simpson Miller made the disclosures on Monday (Aug. 6) while addressing the closing ceremony of the annual Denbigh Agricultural Show in Clarendon.
She said under the Emancipation Lands project a total of 200 acres of land will be made available to farmers at Darley in Portland and Industry Pen in St. Mary. Farmers will be organized into legal Farmers Association under the Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) to enable them to access credit and market their produce.
“The Ministry of Agriculture will ensure that markets are identified for their produce as well as provide farmers with all the necessary extension and technical support services,” Mrs. Simpson Miller stated.
She said $2 Billion will be spent over the next four years on an islandwide irrigation system to replace the current rain-fed system. Two flagship irrigation projects have already been commissioned into service at Pedro Plains in St. Elizabeth and Seven Rivers in St. James, while a third located at Hounslow is scheduled to come on stream shortly.
The Prime Minister said thousands of Jamaicans across the island have received potable water under the government’s Rural Water Supply Programme, with another 32 water supply systems scheduled for implementation this year. Some of the areas to benefit under the programme include Daniel Town in Trelawny, Kings Valley, Crowder and Belleisle in Westmoreland and Harrison Town in St. Ann. Windsor, River View and Moore Town in Portland as well as Beacon Hill and Willmington in St. Thomas will also be included.