Domestic crop production up

Ferguson

DOMESTIC CROP production during the first quarter of 2001 has rebounded from the impact of adverse weather conditions which negatively affected production throughout last year, according to Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Fenton Ferguson.

He said that overall production grew by 19 per cent, an increase largely influenced by marked improvement in weather conditions since the last quarter of last year. This was complemented by the increased distribution of planting materials and other inputs under the Rural Agricultural Development Authority's drought rehabilitation programme and the domestic food crop production and marketing project.

Dr. Ferguson was speaking in the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives last week.

Intensified implementation of the programmes has resulted in the re-establishment of additional acreage of crops, especially vegetables and potatoes, that had suffered extensively under dry conditions last year. Conse-quently there was a 7.9 per cent increase in yield over 2000.

He said that most crops recorded increases, ranging from 2.9 per cent for sorrel to 44.9 per cent for vegetables. The bulk of the increase, however, came from vegetables, yams, fruits and potatoes.

Turning to organic farming, Dr. Ferguson admitted that while regional competitors like Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica had taken the lead in that area, there was still room for Jamaica's participation in what has been conservatively estimated as a US$20 billion ind-ustry.

He said a project on organic plantation production, jointly funded by the Oganisation of American States (OAS) and the Government of Jamaica is to be established at the Bodles and Montpelier Research Stations within the next month. Local materials such as compost and manure will be used for nutrient management and an integrated pest management approach will be taken.

Dr. Ferguson said that organic farming sites have been selected and preparations have been made at Bodles to do research. Initial areas to be tackled are methods of composting and alternative strategies to the use of herbicides for weed control.

He said the Government would be according high priority to implementing its policy for youth in agriculture, focusing on increased access to available land, credit and training.

On the initiative of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, he said, the Government has taken a decision to implement an "Emancipation Land Project" in order to provide alternative economic development centres in accordance with the national settlement strategy.

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