Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (left) hands over MD2 pineapple suckers to Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Parish Manager for St. Elizabeth, Nathan Samuels (right), who accepts on behalf of farmers from the parish, during a handover ceremony at the RADA parish office in Santa Cruz on August 15. At (centre) is Chief Executive Officer of RADA, Peter Thompson.
In keeping with its Production and Productivity Programme, aimed at increasing production of strategically selected crops and livestock for local consumption but with export potential, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) distributed some 70,000 pineapple suckers to farmers in the western parishes of St Elizabeth, Hanover, Westmoreland St. Ann, Clarendon and St. James on Thursday, August 15.
The handover ceremony was held at the RADA St. Elizabeth Parish Office in Santa Cruz, under the 2019-2020 Production Incentive Programme and aims to benefit some 4,000 farmers, with a budget of $280 million, targeting the expansion of nine crops, including pineapple, yam, ginger, dasheen, hot pepper, Irish potato, onion, strawberry and cassava.
In his address at the ceremony, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, said the programme aims to maximise and sustain the production of these crops, thus reducing the country’s import bill.
A total 350,000 pineapple suckers will be distributed to the farmers under a revolving programme to which each farmer will be required to give two suckers per plant to RADA for redistribution to other selected farmers. This will ensure sustainability and continuity of the MB2 Pineapple Programme, Minister Hutchinson said.
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