KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Hi-Pro Division of the Jamaica Broilers Group has donated 260 bags of Hi-Pro Feed and 40 crop kits to small farmers in St James who have been affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The donations form part of the company’s #GROWSTRONG campaign, a five-month-long initiative during which it has committed to donating more than 3,000 bags of Hi-Pro Feed and more than 900 crop kits to small farmers across the island. More than 2,000 farmers are set to benefit from the initiative.

The crop kits include Hi-Pro-distributed PanDia seeds, fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides and are ideal for planting a quarter-acre plot with crops such as cabbage, okra, cucumber, sweet pepper and watermelon.

The total product value allotted for distribution under the #GROWSTRONG initiative is some $23.6 million.

Vice President of Hi-Pro, Colonel Jaimie Ogilvie, said that the company was excited for the opportunity to partner with the island’s small farmers, as they are the backbone of the nation.

“We want to encourage you; do not give up. Times are challenging and there are always going to be challenges, but we have seen time and time again how resilient and focused our farmers are and we want to provide that kind of support,” he stated.

The Hi-Pro Vice President was addressing the initiative’s handover ceremony at Montpelier Agricultural Showground in St James on Friday.

He noted that the #GROWSTRONG initiative is also purposed to encourage other organisations to give support to the small farmers.

“Come on board… get involved, provide some support to the small farmers of Jamaica so we can improve our food security; keep people in business, [and] get our productivity and supply chain back up and running,” he charged.

Colonel Ogilvie disclosed that, so far, the youngest beneficiary of the programme is a nine-year-old boy from Trelawny, and the oldest an 81-year-old woman from St Ann.

“I think that shows the extent and the breadth of the agricultural [sector]; [There are] literally hundreds of thousands of small farmers that feed this country,” he noted.

In March and April of this year, Hi-Pro donated some 500,000 baby chicks to small farmers. In addition, the company is offering discounts on their Broiler Ration feed which will be made available to small farmers through Hi-Pro’s feed dealers until the end of August of this year.

-JIS