| KINGSTON, May 20 (JIS): |
 Domestic
crop production for 2003 was 491,479 tonnes, reaped from an area of
36,239 hectares representing a growth of 13 per cent over the level
of production in 2002, Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke has said.Mr. Clarke was making his presentation to the 2004/05 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Tuesday (May 18). Vegetables did “exceptionally well” he reported, with production increasing by 26.4 per cent. Cabbage, tomato, pumpkin and carrot recorded growth of some 34.2 per cent, 29 per cent, 26.4 per cent and 26.4 per cent respectively. “The increased levels of production triggered a reduction in the farm-gate prices of most crops, thus making them more affordable to consumers and lessening the effect on inflation,” Mr. Clarke said. The fight against the Tristeza virus continued in that industry, underpinned by a Citrus Replanting Programme, which was supported under loan and grant agreements involving the Caribbean Development Bank, the Government of Jamaica and the Development Bank of Jamaica. Meanwhile, the sub-index for meat and poultry during 2003 reflected an increase of 9.8 per cent relative to 2002. This was pushed mainly by poultry and pork, which went up by 12.4 per cent and 15.2 per cent respectively. There continued to be a high demand for poultry meat, which accounted for between 70 to 72 per cent of the total meat consumed in Jamaica in 2003, Mr. Clarke informed. He further disclosed that while there was a 4.7 per cent increase in the number of beef cattle slaughtered during the year, production declined by 3.8 per cent due to the increases in the prices of inputs, poor management practices on the part of some farmers and competition from imports. The ban on the import of beef from the United States in December 2003, as a result of the single reported incidence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the State of Washington, created a shortage of the product on the local market and a subsequent increase in the price to farmers. Mr. Clarke also informed the House that the dairy industry had been on the decline as the production of milk fell by nearly two million litres. He said facilities for the school feeding programme were not being satisfied, as farmers were unable to supply the 2.1 million litres of milk that had been ordered. |
