Focus on farmers as $60 million more provided for drought fight

Head of Department for the Plant, Soil Sciences and Engineering at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) Seymour Webster (left), explains the benefits of sweet potato varieties to (from second left) Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green; President of CASE, Dr. Derrick Deslandes; and President of the Clarendon Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Andrew Anderson. The occasion was a tour of the Youth in Agriculture Village on Saturday, August 1 at the 72nd staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in May Pen, Clarendon held under the theme ‘Growing Forward: Cultivating a Path to a Better Jamaica’.(Photo: JIS) August 4, 2026 DENBIGH, Clarendon — An additional $60 million has been allocated to the country’s drought mitigation programme, with a focus on local farmers. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green gave a breakdown of where the funds will be channelled. “[About] $20 million of that will go to trucking of water for our farmers. But the bigger portion is to provide storage and drip irrigation support to our farmers and also to work on building catchment ponds. When you are in this dry period, we get a bout of shower and it goes to waste and we don’t want that. And so we are on a drive now to build retention ponds with our farmers and community groups so they can be prepared to face these increases in dry temperatures,” he said Saturday at the 72nd staging of the annual Denbigh Agricultural Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon. Green said his ministry has started preparations in keeping with warnings from the Meteorological Service of Jamaica. Caleigh Boyd, who was representing her mother and owner of Izelena, Garthia Downie-Boyd, explains the company’s process of making sauces and seasonings to Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green (centre) and president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society Owen Dobson during a tour of the Youth in Agriculture Village on Saturday, August 1 at the 72nd staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in May Pen, Clarendon. (Photo: JIS) “We don’t want to wait until we are in the height of the drought to start providing support for drought. As such, as outlined in Parliament during my sectoral debate, there is a $149-million drought mitigation programme helping the farmers, to provide some trucking, providing some mulch,” he said. “Today, I am pleased to announce that we are going to add an additional $60 million to our drought mitigation programme.” Full prohibition orders for water usage will likely take effect on August 10 as the country reels from prolonged dry conditions that are expected to stretch into October this year. Speaking during a July 30 media briefing, Meteorological Service of Jamaica Principal Director Evan Thompson said as at the end of June the parishes of St Elizabeth, St James, St Ann, and St Mary “were determined to be experiencing drought conditions”. He said the parishes of Manchester and St Catherine “were both basically on the borderline, in that they were just about moving toward drought conditions”. He noted that the projections did not mean there would be “no rainfall” at all for the island, but that “the number of incidents of rainfall will be fewer”, influenced by the El Nino phenomenon which has caused “lesser than normal amounts of rainfall and higher than normal temperatures” over the past few months. KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Culture Minister Olivia Grange on Monday evening accompanied the President of Ghana, John Mahama... Latoya Shea's bold vision to build a christ-centred school for Jamaica's most vulnerable children At 13, Latoya Shea had no home. Today, the New York-based US Army veteran and nurse anaesthetist is pursuing a vision she believes was given to her by... Sutania Beckford beamed with joy after her boat crew guided ‘Empress’ to a thrilling victory in the Yamaha Engine Race which brought an exciting close... CLARENDON, Jamaica — A police constable assigned to the transport department at the Clarendon Division was found dead with a wound to the neck inside ... International News, Latest News, Regional HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba on Monday began gradually restoring power after suffering another nationwide blackout, the sixth since the year began, thoug... International News, Latest News, Regional SAN DIEGO, United States (CMC) – The California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has strongly condemned the expansion of the United States (US) Vis... PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFP) — Abdullah Shafique struck his sixth Test century, and Babar Azam closed in on a hundred as Pakistan reached ... KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hailed the resilience of Jamaica’s farmers, commending their increasing adoption of technology ... Facebook Twitter Instagram Polls Recent Posts Archives