Agricultural sector stood tall despite drought
Published:Tuesday | September 23, 2014 | 2:24 PMMark Titus
Mark Titus
Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
DONOVAN STANBERRY, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has said the steady growth of the industry, despite the negative impact of the drought, is as a result of the strategic programmes that have been implemented.
According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), agriculture, forestry and fishing led the sectors which grew during the April to June 2014 quarter, recording growth of 12.6 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
"This performance, in the face of a drought, is directly attributable to the strategic programmes of the ministry and its efforts to combat the effects of the drought," Stanberry told The Gleaner. "We had released $33 million that was used to incentivise our farmers to host production in those areas with adequate water."
Stanberry pointed out that the agro parks played a vital role in those growth figures, particularly in the parishes of Manchester and St Elizabeth, which were not only affected by the drought, but also the ongoing battle with the beet army worm challenge, but did not experience any decline.
Approximately 16,000 farmers have been affected and close to a billion dollars lost in the current drought affecting Jamaica and its domestic food production, which was set for exponential expansion in 2014, but had fallen sharply in the second quarter of this year.
According to the PIOJ, the overall quarterly out-turn can be attributed to improved weather conditions, and continued implementation of initiatives aimed at improving productivity and output in agriculture, particularly from the agro parks.
Seven of the nine crop groups within the other agricultural crops component recorded increases, including: plantains, up 70.6 per cent; yams, up by 15.4 per cent; and potatoes, up by14.3 per cent.
Within the traditional export crops component, higher output was recorded for sugar cane, up by 136.4 percent; and bananas, up by 130.4 per cent
Traditional agricultural crop exports grew by 92.1 per cent; and domestic produce increased by 5.5 per cent; while animal farming activities jumped by 0.9 per cent. And, even as some 1,600 hectares of crops and pastures valued over $900 million has been lost to drought or fire, the total area of arable land under production is approximately 200,000 hectares.