The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has formed a Drought Mitigation Committee to adequately prepare its mitigation strategy for the upcoming dry spell season. Making the disclosure, Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said the committee will consist of members of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the National Irrigation Commission Limited and the Meteorological Service of Jamaica. “The committee will have its first meeting next week because as we reflect on the rains, we have to start now to prepare for the drought,” he said. “We will be looking at the forecasting models in relation to what is happening for next year regarding our dry season. We already have data of the areas that are normally affected tremendously by dry spells and will be putting in the mitigation plan to ensure our farmers will be able to make it through any difficulties that will come,” the Minister continued. He was speaking at a ceremony to hand over 1,300 bags of special blend fertilizers, valued at $2million, to farmers worst affected by heavy rains six weeks ago, at Newport Fersan Jamaica Limited’s Wherry Wharf operations in Kingston on December 9. Minister Green also indicated that $40million will be earmarked to refurbish water-catchment facilities across the island to assist farmers with water during periods of drought. “This is a part of a broader programme that we will embark on during the next financial year,” he noted. Meanwhile, Principal Director of Technical Services at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Marina Young, said her organisation endorsed the support being provided to the farmers by Newport Fersan and assured that the inputs would get to the farmers in a timely manner. Mrs. Young hailed the input supplier for rallying to aid the agricultural sector during times of difficulty, pointing to past incidents in which they have provided support. These included farmer’s recovery from the Flagaman fire in St. Elizabeth in October 2019 and farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic this year. Mrs. Young also hailed Newport Fersan for including calcium and sulphur in the blend of fertilizers, which is useful for replenishing the soil for increased growth of produce, which would have been lost due to the rains. For his part, Managing Director of Newport Fersan, Dennis Valdez said there was no greater satisfaction than giving and that the company recognised that the donation would help farmers go through a new year with renewed hope. -30-

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