St Mary cocoa farmers in need of help, PNP tells Gov’t
KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker for St Mary South East, Dr Shane Alexis says cocoa farmers in the constituency are crying out for the Government’s help.
According to Alexis, farmers in the districts of Enfield, Belfield, Richmond, Rock River and surrounding areas have been badly affected by the “Frosty Pod” disease, which was confirmed in 2016.
He said the economic fallout from the impact of disease, which has severely reduced and, in some cases, completely destroyed the yield of cocoa, has affected hundreds of people who are connected to the industry.
The PNP caretaker further argued that the Government’s initial response, administered by the Quarantine Division of the Ministry of Agriculture to prune the affected trees, has now left many cocoa farmers with trees that cannot produce fruit, and, as a result, now they cannot earn an income from their cocoa fields.
“Minister of Agriculture, Audley Shaw, must now act quickly and decisively to rescue the economic prospects of the cocoa farmers and restore confidence in the industry. The last national cocoa planting programme was more than 50 years ago, between 1964-1969.
“Our annual production of cocoa nationally was almost 3000 tonnes between 1995-96 and it is now down to only 100 tonnes. A tonne of Jamaican fine flavoured cocoa, internationally, is worth between USD $6000-$8000 at current market prices,” Alexis expressed.
He stated that the cocoa farmers of South East St Mary are urging Shaw to:
1) Increase and improve the level of consultation and participation of the affected farmers and their associations in planning for the future.
2) Accelerate the intervention of RADA to assist the farmers to replant their fields as quickly as possible.
3) Lobby the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) to provide grants/loans, especially to small and medium sized cocoa farmers for nursery programmes.
“South East St Mary is remembered as a proud and strong farming community. The cocoa farmers are not asking for handouts from the government, but instead a sustainable and viable plan to save their livelihoods and help the country earn valuable foreign exchange,” said Alexis.
