Today is a good day for the parish of Hanover as well as the management and staff of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority as we join them in celebrating yet another important milestone. But even more important, it’s a good day for the farmers in Hanover who will benefit from the services to be offered at this new and improved facility here at Haughton Court.
Established in August 1990 as the chief extension arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the name RADA has become synonymous with the provision of extension services in the sector. Indeed, despite the challenges, RADA has performed creditably over the years in the execution of its services to the 230,000 farmers islandwide, and I wish to commend Mr. Winston Simpson, Acting CEO, and the staff for your unwavering commitment to the sector.
Undoubtedly, RADA’s role is critical to the achievement of the objectives of the Ministry and, by extension, the growth of our country. It is against that background that I am happy to participate in this opening this morning.
You will agree with me that the accomplishments of RADA have only been made possible because of the support and collaboration of our farmers. Therefore, I want to salute all our farmers, especially the 7,147 registered farmers here in Hanover, for your commitment to the agricultural sector amidst what can be described as trying circumstances.
We note that while production activities have been showing a decline over the last 10 years, there has been an increase in livestock production over the past two years. This speaks to your undying commitment to contributing to the nation’s food security.
The Government is aware of the challenges you face, including poor road infrastructure, high input costs and theft of animals. These conditions impact not only the quality and quantity of your produce and livestock but also your ability to get your produce and livestock to market.
Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, we have been working assiduously to address these challenges through our National Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme, the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) and the implementation of several anti-praedial larceny activities being implemented through the Praedial Larceny Prevention Coordination Unit.
Ladies and gentlemen, last year, through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, we spent approximately $650m to rehabilitate 64 farm roads across the island. Here in Hanover, four roads were rehabilitated in the Chester Castle, Haughton Court, Knockalva and Dry Hill areas at a cost of $34 million. This financial year, we intend to spend $27 million on the rehabilitation of three roads – Content, Old Pen and St. Simon.
The parish of Hanover is heavily dependent on agriculture for economic sustainability and is known for its production of yams, ginger, pimento, turmeric and cattle. As we all know, agriculture continues to play a critical role in the growth agenda of this country. In fact, it is the lifeblood of rural communities such as Haughton Court, and therefore every effort must be made to improve the sector.
So as we celebrate this morning, it is also a time to evaluate our progress and set new targets as we strive to take the sector to even greater heights.
Hanover, the opportunities for agricultural expansion are numerous. You are blessed with some 4,500 hectares of arable land, lying idle, and there is a great demand for your products within the tourism sector. We must therefore work assiduously to get these arable lands throughout the parish into production.
I am reliably informed that the parish of Hanover is blessed with an abundance of breadfruits. I am therefore looking forward to the proposed establishment of breadfruit orchards in the parish in order to increase exports and also to engage our farmers in the value chain addition.
This new office facility was constructed at a cost of approximately $110 million, and we are convinced that this was money well spent. This is because we believe that our farmers deserve better service and also the fact that we are committed to providing our staff with a safe and comfortable working environment.
It is said that to whom much is given, much is expected. To the staff of RADA and the farmers of Hanover who will benefit from these upgraded facilities, I encourage you to use the additional resources provided to propel you to achieve greater levels of production and productivity so that come 2023, your parish will move from being number 11 in domestic crop production to being number one.
Indeed, if we are going to fulfil our mandate of Growing Smart and Eating Smart, we must strive towards improving production and productivity, even as we modernise the sector. In other words, we must become more efficient and effective in our agricultural operations. The reality, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are living in a global world and we have to adopt new technologies and methodologies to remain competitive.
Let us all work to ensure that all our efforts will result in greater production and productivity among our farmers, with more young people becoming farmers with innovative ideas, practising more efficient farming and greater use of technology.
I thank you.
Comments