Westmoreland farmers welcome cultivation of ackee, breadfruit and mangoes

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Westmoreland Association of Branch Societies (WABS), an arm of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), has expressed its willingness to embrace the cultivation of ackee, breadfruit and mangoes (ABM) to meet the demands of the export market.

“The only way we can contribute to us getting more finance from agriculture is for us as farmers to produce more for export,” said Owen Dobson, president of WABS.

According to Dobson, who has also indicated his interest in running for the office of JAS president, Westmoreland has a lot of arable lands that aren’t being used.

“If this is what it takes to utilise them then we are in full support of this programme,” he told The Gleaner, responding to the Government’s new ‘Face of Food’ strategy that seeks to increase production of its ABM crops.

“This will be a good thing for us, where we can export more to help the economy,” the WABS president stated.

Astil Gage, president of the Beeston Spring Community Development Committee Benevolent Societies which consist of approximately 30 farmers, has welcomed the initiative, noting that such a programme would do well in the hills of eastern Westmoreland.

“Having a concentrated approach in planting ackee, mangoes and breadfruit is an interesting concept. Our members look forward to embracing the full implementation of this new face of food for export,” Gage said.

“We have a lot of ackee in our community which is collected and sold to a factory in St Elizabeth, so when we have more people planting it will increase our production so that we can export,” the Beeston Spring farming community advocate reasoned.

Franklin Witter, state minister in the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Mining, announced the Government’s plan to ramp up the production of ackee, breadfruit and mangoes in Westmoreland as part of an islandwide push to meet the demands of consumers overseas.

Speaking at Sunday’s Westmorland Agricultural Show held at the Glen Washington Sports Complex in Little London, Witter revealed that in the initial stages, 20 farmers from the parish are to benefit under the new Face of Food initiative.

“As it relates to Westmoreland, the plan is to plant 50 hectares of mangoes, ackee and other orchard crops with the participation of 20 farmers, each of whom will plant 2.5 hectares,” said Witter.

“We also plan to establish another 12 hectares of tuba crops, including three hectares of yam and eight hectares of sweet potatoes which we are pushing under the new face of food strategy,” the state minister of agriculture said.

According to Witter, under the tuba crop production, approximately 25 farmers will take part in seeking to increase the production in Westmoreland.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com