AF/1362/21
KINGSTON, August 26 (JIS):
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is providing $50 million to support banana and plantain farmers who were impacted by the recent passage of Tropical Storm Grace.
Making the announcement during a virtual press conference on Wednesday (August 25), Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said the $50 million will be disbursed through the Banana Board.
He said the funding support will assist the banana and plantain farmers “to get back on their feet”.
“We know that this may not be the full total that is required; again when we look at the figures, we are going in the region of $300 million in terms of the loss to the sector, but we know the need is urgent,” he said.
He informed that preliminary reports indicate that banana and plantain farmers were the farmers hardest hit by the tropical storm.
Mr. Green noted, however, that support will also be provided to other categories of farmers impacted by the recent storm.
“When you look at the percentage loss in relation to vegetables and condiments, most of it is below 10 per cent. When we look at our banana and plantain sector, the loss to the sector is coming out at about 29 per cent.
“We have to get that sector back up and running as quickly as possible. We were on a growth trajectory, in fact our production numbers for bananas have increased [and] our production numbers for plantains have increased by 25 per cent, and importantly, our export numbers for banana have gone up significantly. So, we do not want to lose that momentum,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said preliminary estimates indicate that more than 10,000 farmers across the island were impacted by Tropical Storm Grace, with preliminary losses totalling $700 million.
Mr. Green said the parish of St Thomas was the hardest hit in relation to agricultural loss from the storm. He said their loss is estimated at $195 million.
He explained that agricultural loss in Portland was estimated at $165 million, St Mary, $157 million, St. Ann, $83 million and St James, $57 million.
“We are seeing about 1,900 hectares being impacted and in terms of our livestock farmers, it is estimated that 1,559 livestock farmers were impacted at a loss of $16 million. The small ruminant industry… suffered most of that loss and we have accounted for 282 animals that have been lost valued at 3.35 million,” he said.
He encouraged farmers affected by Tropical Storm Grace to contact their nearest Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) office.
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CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
