KINGSTON, Jamaica — President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JSA), Norman Grant, while expressing congratulations to newly appointed Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries, Audley Shaw sought to have an early meeting with the minister in order to discuss activities that can allow the sector to grow.

Shaw was yesterday transferred to the current ministry by Prime Minister Andrew Holness who announced the ministerial changes during a Cabinet meeting.

In a release today, Grant said the JAS is looking forward to Shaw leading from the front in order to ensure that there is a spirit of unity in the sector and among farmers.

He said the JAS “would also like to see support in the areas of improvement of the rural and farm road networks, a reform to the laws to address the $6 billion that farmers are losing as a result of Praedial Larceny and an allowance for the expediting of land and title reform that could unlock access to credit- all of which are critical to economic transformation for this sector”.

Grant further outlined that last year, the organisation called on the government to make available a line of revolving credit of $1 billion at four to five per cent interest rate for the farmers, similar to the scheme implemented by the EXIM for the medium size stakeholders in the tourism sector as well as $1 billion in the budget of the ministry dedicated to farm and rural road network.

The president ended saying that his organisation would like to engage the minister on these matters among others and is looking forward to a prompt response as it relates to a convenient date for a meeting with the JAS.