Green promises assistance for Flagaman farmers
Member of Parliament for South West St Elizabeth, Floyd Green, has pledged one million dollars from his Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to the victims of the Flagaman fire.
Approximately 200 acres of farmlands were destroyed on Friday August 16, affecting 47 farmers. Flagaman has over 500 registered farmers and is one of the biggest farming communities in Jamaica.
The Member of Parliament also announced that back-to-school assistance is being provided to farmers in collaboration with his office and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
Green said a stimulus package is being crafted to focus on the implements needed to get the farmers restarted as soon as possible.
Green, state minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, toured the area on Tuesday. He, along with representatives of the ministry, were accompanied by members of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).
“We have identified the Black River as the water source and have outsourced a company that has an ongoing feasibility study to determine best fit methods for the arable land and provide a cost for using the Black River to bring irrigation here,” Green said.