Gov’t not abandoning sugar, says Shaw

Government is not abandoning sugar, says the Hon Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, but instead is right-sizing and rationalising the industry.
Noting the downturn in the sugar industry, Minister Shaw said the focus is now on appropriating former sugar lands to other areas of agricultural production starting in the parishes of Clarendon, St. Catherine and Trelawny. He said the SCJ Holdings now has hundreds of applications for thousands of acres of former sugar lands across the country, slated to be leased to farmers.
Minister Shaw was speaking at the launch of the Jamaica Agricultural Society’s 67th anniversary of its Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show held on the grounds of Hi-Pro Ace Supercentre in White Marl, St. Catherine, on June 5, where he outlined several measures being taken to rebuild the agricultural sector.
In encouraging dairy farmers to increase their production, the agriculture minister said that the Ministry would be granting permission for the import of dairy cows in order to facilitate the rebuilding of the industry.
Minister Shaw also stated that with the expansion of Seprod Dairies factory in Bog Walk, St. Catherine, the company will now be producing products for Nestle for sale in the international market, creating an international market for Jamaica’s products.
Other initiatives include seeking a US$100-m grant from the Chinese government to build out the infrastructure in the Blue Mountains for the expansion of coffee production as well as initiating discussions with Green Climate Fund for funding towards the development of small, portable drip irrigation systems for use by small farmers.
Minister Shaw also reiterated Government’s commitment to work with the Jamaica Agricultural Society in its transitioning to a non-governmental organisation. This, he said, would be done in an orderly fashion to ensure that the organisation is at its productive best to support its over 220,000 farmers.
Denbigh 2019 will be held Sunday, August 4 to Tuesday, August 6 at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon under the theme ‘Grow What We Eat…Eat What We Grow: Aligning Farming Decisions with Climatic Conditions’. Highlights of Denbigh 67 include Jamaica 57 Independence Booth, National Farm Queen Competition, Champion Farmers’ Competition, Youth in Agriculture and Tourism Villages Farmers’ Market and displays of the latest industrial equipment, sustainable solutions and irrigation systems.