Food production up 7.4 per cent in Q2

DOMESTIC CROP production grew 7.4 per cent to 219,667 tonnes between April and June of this year, in comparison to the corresponding period a year ago, according to preliminary estimates.

This is also an increase over the January to March quarter, which recorded growth of 3.6 per cent.

Domestic crop production grew by 10.4 per cent to 212,134 tonnes in the first quarter of 2022.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr shared the figures during the sitting of the House of Representatives on September 7.

“This performance represents the Government’s commitment to sustain gains and reflects one of the best-performing quarters on record. I want to commend our farmers, fishers, and all stakeholders as we display the continued recovery and growth of the sector coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with increasing demand from both local and export markets,” Charles Jr said.

The main crop groups showing increases for the quarter were yams, which grew by 16.5 per cent, plantains (11.7 per cent), sweet and regular corn (11 per cent), vegetables (10.3 per cent), and potatoes by 4.8 per cent.

The main areas responsible for food production remain the central parishes, with St Elizabeth contributing 40,889.5 tonnes to the total national production volume, followed by 31,870.3 tonnes from Trelawny.

Meanwhile, the agriculture minister said the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ national campaign is the ministry’s strategic response to the global threat of food security.

“Our objective with the development of this national campaign is to ensure Jamaicans have access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious, safe and fresh local produce,” he stated.

He added that the aim is to reduce the country’s food import bill, provide jobs, build livelihoods and make a significant contribution to the country’s gross domestic product output.

JIS