Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (left), presents young farmer Okelia Douse (right) with seeds at a ceremony to handover agricultural inputs to farmers, at the Dunkeld Church of God Seventh Day in St. Catherine on June 11. At second left is Chairman of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Parish Advisory Board, William Sytall, and RADA Parish Manager, Ruth Barrett.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has allocated $10 million under the Production Incentive Programme for the procurement of seeds, water tanks, planting material for the production of sweet yam and cassava, as well as fertilizers and chemicals to stimulate increased agricultural production.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, said the assistance will be targeted at the vulnerable.
“We will be starting this distribution to help those of you who are in need to help you to get off the ground,” he said.
Mr. Hutchinson was speaking at a handover ceremony of seeds, chemicals and fertilizers by input suppliers Hardware and Lumber (H&L) Agro and Newport Fersan Jamaica Limited to farmers at the Dunkeld Church of God Seventh Day in St. Catherine on June 11.
Mr. Hutchinson lauded the input suppliers for “stepping up to the cause of assisting our farmers with the much-needed boost to produce and do it consistently during this period”.
In her remarks, young farmer Okelia Douse expressed gratitude to the input suppliers for the donation, pointing out that it will go a far way in helping farmers of the community to plant more produce.
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