Nine million gallons of water trucked to farmers as drought intensifies – Holness
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Over nine million gallons of water have been trucked to approximately 900 farmers between January and March to alleviate the impact of the drought ravishing large parts of the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture has also distributed 9,000 metres square of pond liners with 45 recipients.
This was shared on Tuesday by Prime Minister Andrew Holness during a statement in the House of Representatives where he announced a $150 million allocation to combat the drought which has left several farming parishes parched.
“We empathise with the challenges being faced by our farmers, and assure them that Government support will continue and indeed be increased,” the prime minister said.
“As a part of a now well established drought mitigation programme, the Ministry of Agriculture had started the trucking of water in the parishes of St Elizabeth and Manchester through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and has ramped up the supply of water through the National Irrigation Commission (NIC),” he added.
Holness noted that despite having a better January and February than 2023, a number of farming communities are now reeling from the elevated heat and drought.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture and the teams from RADA have recorded the most significant impact in the parishes of Clarendon, St Elizabeth, Manchester, and sections of Trelawny.
With the trucking of water the prime minister said, “These farmers are now better able to harvest and use the limited and intermittent rainfall that we have received”.
He shared that the NIC has also distributed forty-four 650 gallon tanks, fourteen 1,000 gallon tanks and four hundred 12 mm reels of drip hose.
“I have instructed the Minister of Agriculture to ramp up the programme as we enter into the heights of our dry season, and the Ministry has earmarked $60 million to treat with trucking of water, provision of additional drip irrigation and support for our livestock farmers,” Holness said.