Government boosting irrigation in St Elizabeth

The Government is spending $700 million to improve irrigation systems and support farmers across St Elizabeth.

Minister of Agriculture, Floyd Green, said the investment is part of the greater Essex Valley Irrigation Infrastructure Development Programme that aims to improve access to irrigation to boost agricultural production and food security.

He was addressing the Rural Agricultural Development Authority's (RADA) St Elizabeth Open Day dubbed 'Agrifest' at the Social Development Commission (SDC) Complex in Santa Cruz on June 9.

“We're spending $700 million to map the area and we will be running the pipeline from Lacovia into reservoirs... and then piping it to our farmers,” said Green, noting that the funds will also go towards providing over 1000 people with titles for their properties.

He said that the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) is also looking into providing small irrigation kits for St Elizabeth farmers.

“We have done well in relation to drip irrigation, but I know more farmers need some of the tanks, some of the drip hoses to be able to increase their productivity,” he noted.

Green said the Government recognises the untapped potential of former mining lands and plans to allocate $29 million this year toward the establishment of greenhouses in those areas.

“I've asked Minister of State in the Ministry, Franklin Witter, to take charge of our land reclamation….[the lands] can be utilised for agriculture,” he indicated.

“So, Minister Witter is going to take charge of that and also take charge of our land titling programme. Too many people have been moved off their lands that have been used for bauxite mining and they still do not have titles for their new properties. We're going to fix that during this tenure,” he pledged.

- JIS News

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