Local Fisherfolk to get COVID-19 Relief Support

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green says the Government will shortly provide details, on a COVID-19 relief programme, for persons in the fisheries sector.

Speaking at a public forum hosted for local fisherfolk at the Old Harbour Bay Baptist Church in St. Catherine on October 1, Mr. Green said he will provide details of the programme in the House of Representatives, within two weeks.

“We will outline the sort of COVID-19 relief that we have crafted for the fisherfolk. We will speak about the process and the timeframe in terms of when it will actually get to them, and the methodology (for implementation),” Mr. Green told JIS News.

The forum, which was also held virtually, formed part of an islandwide programme to engage farmers and fisherfolk in dialogue to chart the way forward for the agriculture and fisheries sector.

Minister Green informed that the forum, which followed a similar engagement held on October 1, at the Commodore New Testament Church of God, in St. Catherine for farmers went well and provided critical information that will get urgent attention.

“People were focused. They didn’t only raised the challenges that they had, they gave a lot of suggestions as to how the Ministry can fix some of the long standing challenges. There are somethings that we already identified, that we will start working on immediately, while we continue to go around the country and look at the bigger issues,” he stated.