By Mickella Anderson
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – Onion farmers in St Thomas are being lauded by prime minister, Andrew Holness, for their continuous strides in production, including their recent massive crop.
Speaking during his latest visit to the parish for the handover of a social housing unit, Holness said: “I could not come into St Thomas without also mentioning the progress that you are making in your agriculture.
“I was very happy to see that our onion farmers, particularly in this parish, have been doing well in increasing their production,” the prime minister further stated.
Minister of agriculture and fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr., also visited the parish, recently, where he met with the farmers to discuss their concerns relating to identifying markets for their enormous production, at an agreeable price.
Prime minister Holness said a challenge with agriculture, globally, is that of having consistent and reliable output, and “because of this variation in output, you also have a variation in price”.
“There is need for the government to be a present force in the markets to ensure increased outputs always [and] also ensure that there is a steady and fair price. That means the government has to provide, not necessarily by itself but in partnership with the private sector, a stable market, which could come through the provision of storage or some form of support [such as] with fertilisers or agricultural equipment,” he added.
The prime minister pointed out that, “in this instance, I know that the minister of agriculture intervened and brought the market players together to ensure that the quantity of production was also met by a decent price”.
“I gather that over 80 percent of the output of the farmers has been taken up … . We have moved a far way in solving the problem,” he further stated.
Meanwhile, Holness assured the residents that he is closely monitoring the progress of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP).
“I am taking a personal hand in the management of this project [by] getting bi-weekly reports on how it is going,” he said, adding that, “progress is continuing… they are moving ahead.”
The prime minister noted, however, that the dislocation to the residents has been significant and reiterated his gratitude for their patience and understanding of the process.
“The people of St Thomas have been good troopers, good soldiers, soldiering through the difficulty, but that doesn’t say that we should take for granted their understanding. So, I am constantly questioning the National Works Agency (NWA) and the contractors to make sure that they maintain service standards [and] respect the rights of the citizens,” Holness maintained.
