THE JAMAICA Agricultural Society (JAS), will begin distribution of agricultural supplies this week, as part of the rehabilitation of the sector, following the devastation by Hurricane Ivan on September 10.
President of the JAS, Senator Norman Grant said the supplies were bought from $14 million contributed by the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS), United Way of Jamaica and the National Commercial Bank (NCB).
The supplies, he noted, would be distributed in those parished identified by the CVSS to have experienced the most devastation, such as St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, Westmoreland and St. James. Supplies to be distributed include fertilisers, seeds and farm equipment.
PREVENTING DUPLICATION
Senator Grant told a recent forum hosted by the Jamaica Information Service that the process was a collaborative effort among the stakeholders involved, "in order to prevent duplication of efforts as well as to make sure that the process of distribution is in keeping with a consensus position that was arrived at among the JAS, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Office of National Reconstruction."
In his capacity as chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Senator Grant said the organisation has received funding of $6.6 million from the CVSS and United Way of Jamaica to focus on youth programmes and other 4-H Club projects, as part of the rebuilding process.
Among the institutions that will benefit are Rose Hall Training Centre in St. Catherine, Charlotteburgh Training Centre in St. Mary, New Forest Training Centre in Manchester, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland, Sydney Pagon Agricultural School in St. Elizabeth and Knockalva Agricultural School in Hanover.
