GOVERNMENT back-bencher Dr Winston Green says he is concerned about the conditions facing farmers in his St Mary South Eastern constituency.

“I am yet to see that we are serious about agriculture and food security in St Mary,” Dr Green told his colleagues in the House of Representatives, as the new State of the Constituency Debate drew to a close Wednesday.

“It is discouraging when you ask RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) for a tractor with a plough to assist the farmer, and you are constantly told that the loan tractor is not working,” Green said.

“It is discouraging when we seek to increase production in agriculture, but yet we have hundreds of acres of Government lands suitable for agricultural cultivation… acres upon acres of Richmond prison land lying idle, despite representations by me to have these lands leased to potential farmers,” he said.

“It is discouraging when constantly, for many years now, the cocoa farmers have complained of the difficulty in obtaining payment for the cocoa they sell, to the extent where they are cutting down the trees and leaving the pods to rot,” he stated.

“These farmers have children in school and families to feed and lost most of their livelihood and need urgent help,” he said.

However, Dr Green said that he has made representations to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Derrick Kellier who is examining the situation.

“We are seeking some assistance. Much more assistance is required from central government,” he concluded.