KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has allotted $79 million to procure water tanks and drip irrigation hoses for farmers.

Portfolio Minister, Floyd Green, who made the disclosure during a recent post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said the items should be available by the end of March, following which distribution will begin.

The ministry has distributed 171 irrigation kits and 178 water tanks to farmers over the last few months.

The procurement of the water tanks and drip irrigation hoses is part of a $134-million dry period response programme by the ministry to assist farmers across the island.

From the allocation, $30 million has been earmarked for trucking — $14 million to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and $16 million to the National Irrigation Commission (NIC).

Approximately $10 million will go towards procuring 12,500 square metres of pond liners and $8 million will be used to provide mulch, which is used by farmers to retain moisture in soil, thereby protecting the crops.

“If you are familiar with what we do, especially in St Elizabeth South, we use the grass to maintain the moisture in the soil.  We’ve allocated about $8 million to provide some support to the farmers in that regard,” Green said.

Additionally, he noted that the ministry has partnered with Food For the Poor, which will distribute 100 small water pumps to farmers, so that they will have storage.

“We think [this] is very, very important because as we truck water to farmers, we hope that farmers have storage capacity, and in so doing, a lot of them need the water pumps to be able to adequately serve their farms,” Green reasoned.

He encouraged farmers to contact their respective RADA office and the NIC if they need water during the dry period.

“I want our farmers to rest assured that the Ministry of Agriculture stands ready to help them,” he said.

The multimillion-dollar drought response was crafted after it was revealed that in December, seven of the 13 parishes in the country experienced the lowest average rainfall in 30 years.

— JIS