The Government is providing an additional $200 million for the transportation of sugarcane from Monymusk in Clarendon to the Worthy Park Estate in St Catherine and Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth for the 2019/2020 crop season.

The assurance came from Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Senior Director in the Ministry’s Strategic Planning Division, Delroy Coley, at the 70th Annual General Meeting of the All-Island Cane Farmers’ Association held at the Denbigh Showground in May Pen on Wednesday, November 13.

Assist the small farmers

The support is part of short-term interventions to assist the small farmers from St Catherine and Clarendon who operate in the Monymusk area. A similar sum was provided for the 2018/19 crop.

“In addition to that, the Government has also identified other areas of assistance for our sugarcane farmers, including fertiliser, which will be provided to the All-Island Cane Farmers’ Association to boost your revolving loan scheme for input supplies to members,” the Minister said.

He said that the matter of irrigation is also being addressed.

“We are doing all of this in order to facilitate the planting of cane because the factories need your cane,” Shaw added.