Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says the sector recorded growth of 10 per cent during the first quarter of the year.

He made the disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, April 24.

“Just to say despite having a challenging year, last year our farmers really put their shoulders to the wheel to start 2024 and our preliminary figures indicate that the first quarter of 2024, we would have grown our agricultural sector by over 10 per cent and that is a testament to the hard work, dedication and determination of our farmers,” Green said.

He said the Government is taking steps to respond to the challenges farmers are experiencing during the ongoing drought.

“Between January and March, we have trucked about 90 million gallons of water, helping 900 farmers. Additionally, we have also been working with farmers to be better able to withstand this current drought by making them more resilient. As such, we have worked with about 45 farmers to develop catchment areas and provide them with pond liners. That work has helped about a thousand farmers in enhancing their water management practices and their agricultural sustainability,” the agriculture minister said.

He further noted that the government has earmarked more than J$1 million towards building catchments in six highly productive zones.

He noted that one has been completed in Hinds Town, St Ann while work is underway in Lucky Hill Pen, St Mary.

“As we have recognised that the drought has persisted and what started in Manchester and St Elizabeth has now been extended to multiple parishes. We have enhanced our drought mitigation response and as such we are now focusing on Clarendon, St Elizabeth, Manchester, Trelawny, Westmoreland, St Ann and Portland. We have allocated an additional J$24 million to the trucking of water which is part of a bigger programme that amounts to about J$90 million,” Green added.

Farmers are also being urged to contact their Rural Agricultural Development Authority officer or parish office or the National Irrigation Commission, if they require water.