MONTEGO BAY, St James – Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw has refuted claims by head of the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers’ Association, Ras Iyah V, that members of his association are yet to receive an communication from his ministry about arrangements for the commencement of a pilot ganja project for Orange Hill in Westmoreland.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that two pilot projects, one in Orange Hill and the other in Accompong, St Elizabeth under the Alternative Development Programme (ADP), which will provide an avenue for small farmers to benefit from the ganja industry are scheduled to start by March.

However, last week, following the announcement, Ras Iyah V said that representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture are yet to meet with any of the Orange Hill ganja farmers ahead of the announced start of the pilot projects.

“We give thanks for the announcement that the two pilot projects, Orange Hill and Accompong, will get off the ground during the first quarter of the year, but we need to face the reality of what it is going to take in order for that to take place and speaking from an Orange Hill point of view, so far none of these people in official positions where the programme is concerned, have sat and spoken with us in terms of how it is going to be approached,” he said.

But, Shaw has denied that claim.

“That is not true at all, not true. Communication is taking place. I gave the prime minister the green light to announce it at the recent Accompong celebrations and yes, it is what we call alternative development programme that is going to involve small farmers. We are going to be using what you call a sort of cooperative arrangement where small farmers work under the general guidance of larger people who are more exposed to the technology and to the appropriate disciplines surrounding the orderly production of the product, so that it can be part of the international market,” Shaw declared.

He also moved to allay fears among the small ganja farmers in Westmoreland that the pilot project will not kick off by the end of March as announced.

“I can assure that my three-month plan for the ADP, using the two pilot projects starting with them in Accompong and in Orange Hill will be well on the way. I gave that assurance,” Shaw argued.

In fact, the agriculture minister reassured all small ganja farmers that following the two pilot projects, the programme will spread to other parishes.

“I want all the farmers to rest assured that we are starting with the pilot project but we are going to be moving rapidly to other small farmers,” he said.

But he warned that the farmers should be prepared to be guided by international standards.

“I want to say to them, be prepared to start working with the rules. There are rules of engagement. It can’t be any way you want to do the something. You have to do it the right way because the right way is international standards and if we want to have an internationally marketable range of products, then we have to follow the rules,” Shaw argued.

The 1998 Action Plan adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, provides for the inclusion of a programme, such as the ADP, through specifically designed rural development measures consistent with sustained national economic growth. The programme, which aims to prevent and eliminate the illicit cultivation of ganja and channel the process through legal streams, will be administered by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries with oversight from the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority.

Among the stipulations are the tagging of plants under a track and trace mechanism; sale of products through licensed processors; farmers’ alignment to community-based associations/organisations; accommodation of special groups such as the Maroons and Rastafarians, and that cultivations does not exceed half-an acre per farmer.