Private Tractor Owners Urged to Partner with Agriculture Ministry

Private tractor owners are being encouraged to partner with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, to extend the reach of the free tractor service being provided to farmers.

Under the initiative, farmers will be able to access the Rural Agricultural Development Authority’s (RADA) tractor services free of cost for six months to prepare their land for replanting.

The intervention is aimed at restarting production as quickly as possible following the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa.

“If you know a private tractor owner, tell him to contact RADA so we can put him on the system … we will pay that owner to come and plow your land,” said portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green.

“Don’t get the private man to go plow [the land] , and then say you want a refund; it can’t work like that,” he pointed out, noting that the Ministry wants to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of the service.

Minister Green, who was speaking at the official opening of solar-powered cold storage facilities in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth on Friday (Dec. 5), noted that the free tractor service will reduce the cost to farmers for preparing their fields.

He informed that a structured, tier system has been implemented to ensure fairness.

“If you have up to an acre, we will do that for you free. If you have more than an acre, but less than five, we can go up to two acres. If you have over five, we can go up to five as a maximum. That is how we are organising it,” he said.

The tractor service is part of a larger package of recovery initiatives, which include distribution of seeds, fertilisers, irrigation kits, and planting material.

“Over the next three months, RADA is going to be providing planting material free…this cannot wait; that is the reality,” Minister Green said.