GOVERNMENT has included $363 million in the first supplementary estimates for 2018/19 to finance some of the obligations of the Sugar Transformation Unit (STU) of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.

Just more than $59 million is intended to help meet payment of gratuity for staff at the STU, while an additional $304 million is to be used to meet contractual obligations under the Sugar Transformation Programme.

The Sugar Transformation Unit has been providing financing, through the Cane Expansion Fund (CEF) to assist with improving efficiency of operations within the industry.

The fund supports expansion of cane production, and provide capital inputs, such as drip irrigation equipment to improve cane production efficiencies throughout the industry. The Sugar Industry Authority is managing this fund on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries. To date $1.77 billion has been injected into the Cane Expansion Fund.

Since 2008, the CEF has approved 11,826 hectares of cane for planting and replanting, and, as at February 2014, and the CEF has disbursed $1.6 billion in loans and grants.

As at February 2014, 397 housing solutions have been presented to residents of sugar barracks as part of the Sugar Barracks Relocation Project.

Since the challenges to the regional sugar industry created by the decision of the European Union (EU) in 2009 to reduce the prices of raw sugar imports from Jamaica by 36 per cent, the Sugar Protocol, which allowed Jamaica and other ACP countries guaranteed preferential prices, was replaced by the ACP Economic Partnership Agreement.

In order to cushion the negative economic and social impact of changes to the EU Sugar Regime, the EU has been providing financial assistance to ACP countries, including Jamaica, under the Accompanying Measures for Sugar.

The estimates also provides allocations for several other programmes within the ministry, including: a $50- million increase to the Cannabis Licensing Authority, as an additional requirement for operational expenses, including compensation for employees, rental of property and the use of goods and services.

The Consumer Affairs Commission in the ministry will also receive $1.5 million, as an additional requirement to meet expenditure for the development of a National Consumer Policy, in accordance with a May, 2018 Cabinet decision.

The research and development division will receive some $37 million to finance research in procuring feed for animals, crop research and development, phytosanitary research, and research in animal breeding, nutrition and husbandry.

There is $60 million as additional subvention for the Hope Zoo Foundation reallocated from the contingencies provided by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

There is also $197 million to help facilitate expenditure for the Irish potato, scotch bonnet pepper and onion programmes, as well as the bamboo and castor bean development projects, and $97 million to meet the liabilities of the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority.

— Balford Henry