Harker’s Hall Farmers To Plant Fruit Trees May 22

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will be engaging farmers in Harker’s Hall, St. Catherine, to plant fruit trees to commemorate the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.

They will gather at a farm in Barnett Hill and two locations in Above Rocks to plant 124 trees and establish an apiary of 50 bee-box frames.

The activities will be carried out under the theme ‘Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health’, with the aim of leveraging knowledge and spreading awareness of the dependency of food systems, nutrition and health on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.

This will be done in collaboration with partners in the community and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

“RADA helped to select and mobilise farmers in the area and provided advice on the best choice of land for the type of fruit trees we will plant,” NEPA’s Senior Public Education Officer, Ava Tomlinson, told JIS News.

Farmers and community members will also receive training in sustainable production practices and will be given seeds, fruit tree seedlings, timber seedlings, organic fertiliser and organic pesticides, in an effort to improve biodiversity and encourage the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.