Minister Hutchinson launches 170-acre farm in Westmoreland

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon J.C. Hutchinson, had high praises for the owners and stakeholders at the launch of the newly established 170-acre CKL Farms in Enfield, Westmoreland, on April 12.

With an investment of over $50m, some 40 acres of Irish potato, 25 acres of pineapples and 20 acres of papaya, melon, pumpkin, carrots, bell pepper and Scotch bonnet peppers are currently under cultivation.

While reiterating that Government, in collaboration with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is looking for idle lands to put into the hands of farmers, Minister Hutchinson said, “We are going to be putting all of the idle land into production.”

The Minister warned that persons with Government lands that were not into production will be given six months to get those lands into production or their lease would be revoked.

Minister Hutchinson called for a change in the culture of how agriculture is grown, stating that farmers need to operate their farms as a business. He stated that persons who are seeking assistance from RADA will first have to participate in a two-day training exercise in whatever crop they are seeking to cultivate to ensure that the crop will not fail.

In addition, Minister Hutchinson said that the use of technology was integral to the growth of agriculture and noted that RADA will be using drone technology to identify crops in the field; identify missing nutrients in crops and detect diseases, among other things.