THE agriculture ministry is establishing irrigation systems islandwide at a cost of $2 billion to help farmers make the shift from the rain-fed production system, Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke said yesterday.

The minister said the irrigation systems would significantly increase crop yields and facilitate consistent supplies.

Clarke, who was speaking at the World Food Day 2006 media launch at his ministry, said that the move was in keeping with the government’s policy of using the agricultural sector as a catalyst for stimulating economic growth, and creating income-earning opportunities for the rural poor.

“We have been taking deliberate steps to boost these and other sub-sectors,” he said.

Clarke said that several of his ministry’s initiatives to create opportunities for the island’s farmers were beginning to yield dividends. He mentioned the honey industry as a case in point, noting that in 2005 the ministry invested $11.5 million, which resulted in honey production being doubled from an average of 3.2 gallons to 7.5 gallons per hive.

Clarke, who noted that agriculture played a central role in national development, said data compiled by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) showed that more than 150,000 rural families relied on the agricultural sector for their economic survival.

“Eighty per cent of all productive activities in rural Jamaica are agriculture-based, and 90 per cent of all productive processes depend directly or indirectly on the sector for raw material,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, Dr Dunstan Campbell, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative (Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize) said that organisation would be placing greater emphasis on the production and consumption of foods that contribute to healthy living. The thrust, Campbell said, would be in keeping with the World Food Day Theme, “Invest in Agriculture For Food Security the Whole World Will Benefit.”

Campbell said that with the assistance of the agriculture ministry, the FAO would be introducing “growing” boxes to schools, inner-city communities, youth groups and low-income communities. Vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce and greens could be conveniently grown in these boxes, he explained.

Victor Cummings, minister of state in the agriculture ministry and chairman of the World Food Day National Coordinating Committee, said the World Food Day celebrations in Jamaica would take place from October 16 to 19. One of the highlights will be a national church service at the Church of God in Jamaica, 93B Constant Spring Road, Kingston 10.

The National ceremony and exhibition will be held at Ardenne High School on October 19, where the winners of the School and Backyard Garden Competition will receive their awards.