HINDS
This week, Farmers Weekly presents the fourth in a series of features on parish managers of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority with St. Elizabeth's Howard Hinds.
Rayon Dyer, Gleaner Writer
BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth:
HOWARD HINDS, 57, intends to lead St. Elizabeth to significant increases in its domestic food crop production over the next five years.
Mr. Hinds, who has been the manager of Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) St. Elizabeth, for the past 11 years, previously served as deputy parish manager and acting parish agricultural manager.
"Apart from 1996 we haven't had any real growth in domestic food crop in this parish. We have to change that," he said.
EXPANSION
Mr. Hinds said that his agency hoped to attain this through an expansion of the extension service to benefit the parish's more than 20,000 farmers.
"I am committed to the task of developing agriculture in St. Elizabeth and with the help of my extension officers and the farmers, that will be accomplished," he affirmed.
However, he said there was need for greater support from Government for the agricultural sector.
"I am not pleased with how agriculture and the farming sector have been treated. At the parish level we should be doing a lot more for the farmers. Our advice alone cannot help them to be efficient. They need extra resources to work with, they need cheap loans and more research assistance," he said.
