MINISTER of Agriculture Christopher Tufton says that support from both the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has boosted funding to support greenhouse farming.

According to Dr Tufton, the original $20-million allocated in the budget has been boosted with an additional $11 million from the IICA and USAID, which will soon be disbursed to the farmers.

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture, along with both organisations and the Greenhouse Growers Association, would be reviewing the design of greenhouses which can resist hurricane.

The minister was answering questions in the House of Representatives on Tuesday from the opposition spokesman on Agriculture, Roger Clarke, on whether arrangements made by the previous government to provide post-Hurricane Dean relief for the agricultural sector were being implemented.

Dr Tufton said that the $100-million fertiliser relief programme had commenced, but that complaints from farmers about the method of distribution and lack of transparency had led to the suspension of distribution in some parishes.

He said that the government would review the distribution mechanism associated with future relief efforts of this nature, with a view to determining the most efficient method.

He said that 2,560 tonnes of fertiliser were ordered, 1,575 tonnes of which had been distributed to over 15,000 farmers in all parishes.

In fisheries, he said that $10 million had been allocated to which his ministry has added $5 million, which has been disbursed on a constituency basis in proportion to reported damage.

“This assistance will be followed by a more far-reaching plan for the sector being spearheaded by this government which will first address a comprehensive overhaul of the facilities at the beaches, including storage, sanitary conveniences and infrastructure for fishermen to carry out their trade,” Dr Tufton explained.

He said $10 million had been distributed to the banana sector mainly to provide fertilisers for farmers and that another $10 million worth of seeds for farmers, complemented by a US$100,000 donation from the Sandals Group, would be distributed to farmers as soon as the distribution process has been finalised.

Meanwhile, Dr Tufton said that $50 million would also be made available to fruit tree farmers in terms of seedlings and cash grants, and that the government would expand the programme next year.

Clarke pointed out that timing was of the essence in the distribution of seeds, as Fall was not the ideal season for planting.

Tufton, in reply, said that the initial arrangements had created the delays.

“I am not satisfied with those arrangements and the government is committed to reviewing the process, including that of fertiliser distribution,” he said.