Jamaica’s agricultural sector has met 40 per cent of the national demand for onions, surpassing the original target of 20 per cent. This means the production efforts resulted in growers producing roughly 4,000 tons of the total demand of 10,000 tons last year. Apart from this, the agricultural sector was also able to meet 70 per cent of the national demand for potatoes, which moved from 15,000 to 17,000 tons.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Pearnel Charles Jr has expressed his gratitude to sector’s stakeholders, saying : “I highlight those things to say thank you to the farmers, extension officers and to everyone who has believed in agriculture, which is improving and increasing. If you ask whether Jamaica is producing, we can have a resounding response in saying that we are producing our highest number of domestic crops ever.”
Mr. Charles said that by improving the sector’s capacity to meet local demand, the Ministry is focusing on reducing the country’s import numbers. Meanwhile, with the impact of the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine on input costs and supply availability, the Ministry has activated several strategies to help farmers. Efforts include the recent provision of over 24,000 bags of fertiliser to farmers across the island and renewed focus on the Production Incentive Programme.
Source: jis.gov.jm