THE Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining will be distributing 2,500 irrigation kits, starting this year, to ensure that small farmers have greater capacity to withstand drought periods.

This was announced by portfolio Minister Floyd Green as he made his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“What we have found is that our farmers who have the storage capacity and the drip hoses, they do better. They are better able to withstand the drought,” Green said.

He said this exercise will be done under a new black tank irrigation programme and using a mixed modality of distribution including through elected representatives, Rural Agricultural Development Authority, Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, and various farmer-based organisations.

Stressing that the most important area now for farmers is access to water, especially as the climate changes, Green said that the ministry is continuing to focus on drought mitigation, noting that last year over $175 million was spent in relation to the drought.

“This year, we are continuing that work. We plan to continue to establish retention points in highly productive zones to ensure that when the rain does come, we’re making the most of it,” he said.

Green lamented that only 12 per cent of arable land is irrigated, but said the Administration is moving to fix that, pointing out that over the last eight years the Government has spent the most of any government investing in irrigation infrastructure.

He pointed to the Pedro Plains Irrigation Scheme for which ground is expected to be broken this financial year and which will place approximately 3,000 hectares under irrigation cover.

“We’re spending $187 million with the National Land Agency to do the cadastral surveys as we speak. A water demand census is underway by Spatial Innovation as we speak, and we’re hosting meetings to get the demands from the residents across the Pedro Plains area,” he said.

In terms of the Essex Valley Project, the minister noted that all the pipes have been laid, wells drilled, and the rehabilitation of the majority of 27 kilometres of farm road has been completed. He said that project is now awaiting the completion of the procurement for the pumps.

Green noted that there are other irrigation projects in the pipeline — Hinds Town, Yallahs, Lucky Hill Pen and Lennox/Lower Leyton in Portland.

“All of this we plan to spend, over the next few years, $730 million to bring irrigation to 4,000 hectares to help over 4,000 farmers, and to increase production levels by 50 per cent,” he said.