Support for Farmers Impacted by Dry Conditions

The Government is providing support to farmers affected by the current drought conditions.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has been “very active” in supplying farmers with water.

“A number of farming communities have benefited. The Ministry and the team from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) have made significant efforts in supporting several communities in Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Trelawny. These are the parishes that have been most affected,” he said during a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 9).

Mr. Holness informed that during the period January to March 2024, more than nine million gallons of water have been trucked to approximately 900 farmers to alleviate the impact of the dry spell.

“The Ministry has also distributed 9,000 square metres of pond liners, with 45 recipients benefiting from that. These farmers are now able to better harvest their crops and use the limited and intermittent rainfall that they have received,” he pointed out.

Mr. Holness told the House that water is also being provided through the National Irrigation Commission (NIC).

“The NIC has also distributed forty-four 650-gallon tanks, fourteen 1,000-gallon tanks, and four hundred 12-millimetre reels of drip hoses. So that’s significant assistance to our farmers in this time of great need in the drought,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that as the country enters the peak of the dry season, the support is being ramped up, with $60 million earmarked to treat with the trucking of water, provision of additional drip irrigation, and other assistance for livestock farmers.

Noting that assistance is also being provided to schools, Mr. Holness said he has given instructions for Rural Water Supply Limited to partner with the Ministry of Education and Youth to do a national assessment of schools, with the objective of improving water-storage capacity.

“We urge schools to plan in their operations for water resilience,” he advised.

Mr. Holness used the opportunity to condemn the theft of a water tank from the Negril Primary School in Westmoreland.

“It is despicable that, in a period where the country is grappling with this national crisis, someone would seek to deprive a school of its water-storage capacity. I urge the police to investigate it thoroughly and recover the tank and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.