Farmers sign contracts to plant more red peas in Jamaica
Farmers from
St Elizabeth and St Catherine have signed contracts with the Chief Executive
Officer of Home Grown Produce Limited, Damion Young, to supply them with the
red peas they will be planting, so as to increase local output.
The signing
took place at the launch of the Red Peas Industry Programme, in Spaldings,
Clarendon, on November 1, by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of
Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, J. C. Hutchinson.
Importation of red peas
Hutchinson
also presented farmers from Burnt Ground in St Elizabeth with 30 bags of
fertiliser in a bid to encourage them to plant more red peas.
This comes
against the background that recent data from the Ministry shows that in 2017, a
total of 7,247 tonnes of red peas, valued at US$7.2 million, were imported, and
in 2018, some 7,642 tonnes, valued at US$8.2 million, were imported,
representing an increase of 395 tonnes over the previous year and an increase
of US$1 million being spent on the importation of red peas.
High demand
In his
address, Hutchinson said there is money to be made by farmers who plant red
peas because the local demand is high.
“We can grow
red peas profitably right here in Jamaica. We import most of our red peas from
a neighbouring CARICOM territory, and my response is that if they can grow it
there, we can grow it here,” he told the farmers in attendance.
The Minister
said that it is obvious that Jamaicans love and consume a lot of red peas, and
the farmers who have signed contracts to produce more red peas must be
consistent in their production of the crop.
“This initiative that you have embarked on to resuscitate and increase the production of red peas is, therefore, to be lauded, and you have the full support of the Ministry to strengthen your prospects in achieving your desired goal,” Hutchinson said.
