St. Ann Farmers Urged to get Involved in Domestic Food Crop Project

Farmers in St. Ann are being encouraged to get involved in the Domestic Food Crop Project and reap the many benefits that the programme has to offer.
“Under the Domestic Food Crop Project, we are assisting farmers who are into domestic crop production with the installation of mini drip irrigation systems on their holdings,” St. Ann Parish Manager for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Pedro Worghs told JIS News.
“The farmers will have to show that they can find water to refill these mini drip systems,” he said, noting that it was very important for them to have a reliable source, as it would be difficult to truck water to refill the systems.
He said that the RADA extension officers were ready and waiting to work with those farmers who showed an interest in the project, and urged farmers to call or visit any of the RADA extension offices in the parish to gain additional information as to how they can benefit under the programme.
On the availability of agricultural produce for the markets during the Christmas holidays, Mr. Worghs pointed out that the recent heavy rains in the parish had not created any major damage to crops or livestock, hence there should be no major reduction in the volume of produce.
“There will be no reduction in the volume of vegetable produce in the major vegetable growing sections in the parish. However, farmers who planted potatoes and did not put in proper drainage system, lost a fair amount due to rotting in the soil,” he said.
Mr. Worghs assured consumers that they would be able to purchase other produce, such as cabbage and lettuce this Christmas at a reasonable price.