Government to Protect Household Food Security

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says to stabilise supply and protect household food security, the Government will be tapping into external sources for selected fruits and vegetables.

These, he said, include tomato, lettuce, cabbage, sweet pepper, carrot and papaya, based on dietary importance, stock levels and anticipated gaps over the next two months.

“We will closely monitor our protein supply and where necessary take the appropriate action to fill the identified gaps. Already coming out of our egg production meeting we will have to take immediate steps to facilitate the importation of table eggs,” Mr. Green said.

The Minister was delivering a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (November 11).

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

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

Hurricane Melissa caused significant damage to Jamaica’s agricultural sector, with preliminary assessments showing losses of approximately $29.5 billion, affecting more than 70,000 farmers and impacting 41,390 hectares of farmland.