Agricultural transformation coming for St. Catherine

Agricultural land transformation in sections of St. Catherine that will bring wealth to several farmers in the area is scheduled to get under way over the next six to twelve months.
Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the areas of focus will include Bernard Lodge and Innswood in the parish, which amounts to roughly 6,000 acres of land.
“This will be a dynamic partnership of large business operators and small farmers…These large business people have the financial capacity and the technology capacity to work with farmers in a mother farm concept and provide technology support, fertilization, upfront capital injection and guaranteed markets,” the Minister informed.
He was speaking at the 2020 staging of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer- to- Farmer Conference at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston on January 6.
Mr. Shaw added that the intention is to have similar projects replicated across Jamaica.
He noted that as part of the plans for the 6,000 acres of land, there will be a 3,000-acre farm that will utilize Israeli technology.
He explained that Israel is an innovator in water technology as the country extracts the salt from seawater to irrigate land.
The Minister emphasised Jamaica’s potential for agricultural productivity, which exceeds that of Israel, and issued a challenge for Jamaica to increase its level of productivity by venturing into the areas of agro- processing.
The USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer- to- Farmer Conference is being held from January 5-11 and consists of participants from 13 countries.
The Farmer- to -Farmer Programme aims to provide technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and transitioning countries to promote sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production and marketing.
The programme’s main goal is to generate sustainable, broad-based economic growth in the agricultural sector through voluntary technical assistance.
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