From left, William McKenzie, repair service manager at Kingston Industrial Agency assists Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Pearnel Charles Jr, prior to test driving of the of six rubber wheel tractors that were handed over to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority. Looking on at right is Minister of State, Franklin Witter.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, handed over six new rubber wheel farm tractors, valued at approximately $49.735 million, to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) at an official handover ceremony in Kingston on January 17.
The six tractors bring the authority’s working fleet to 13, and form part of the Ministry’s latest efforts to mechanize the RADA; improving the services provided to farmers.
The new machines are slated to directly benefit onion farmers of Yallahs and Plantain Garden River in St. Thomas, Irish potato farmers in Guys Hill, St. Catherine; and Hinds Town, St. Ann; as well as farmers in the vegetable production belt of Bog Hole in Clarendon. Additionally, farmers of Manchester and St. Elizabeth will also benefit from the six new additions.
Minister Charles Jr said there’s much left to be done to adequately equip RADA to help farmers Grow Smart and Eat Smart.
“Providing the farmers with equipment like these rubber wheel tractors is not a luxury, it is a necessity, because food security is a priority for every single Jamaican. We don’t want to just be producing food, we want to do it in a sustainable way,” he stated.
Minister Charles Jr says mechanization efforts such as this, is also crucial to advancing growth within the agriculture sector.
“We’re coming from a time when the sector’s operations were hindered by either the lack of or the ageing pool of tractors, many of which were approaching the end of their useful life cycle. But we must be realistic, if we are calling on farmers to do more, we must then make the investment to make that a reality,” he added.
Minister Charles Jr vowed to do even more to further enhance the quality of life of farmers, as well as to propel production; ultimately making agriculture a catalyst for economic development.
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