Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Honourable Floyd Green (second right), and Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Jamaica, Belize and The Bahamas, Her Excellency Dr Erja Askola (third right), cut a ribbon to officially hand over four tractors donated to Jamaica by the EU on Thursday, October 9, at Kingston Industrial Agencies (KIA) on Spanish Town Road in Kingston. They are joined by (from left) Deputy Director General at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Claire Bernard; Acting Chief Executive Officer at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Garnet Edmondson; Minister of State in the Ministry, the Honourable Franklyn Witter; and Sales Manager at KIA, Stephen Henriques.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), has added four new rubber-wheel Holland Model agricultural tractors and accompanying implements to its fleet, which will serve farmers across Jamaica.

The tractors and implements were handed over on Thursday, October 9, as part of a collaborative effort between the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the European Union (EU) under the six-year A Jamaican Path from Hills to Ocean project.

The project aims to protect Jamaican ecosystems and enhance community resilience to climate change by applying Integrated and Sustainable Landscape Management across targeted watersheds from the hills to the sea.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at Kingston Industrial Agencies (KIA) on Spanish Town Road in Kingston, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Hon. Floyd Green, stated that the tractors and implements were procured at a value of $43.3 million from KIA and will support the Government’s efforts to mechanise the agricultural sector.

“We have to move from just talking about production to productivity. The only way to increase productivity is to increase efficiency, and the only way to increase efficiency, especially for our small farmers, is through mechanisation,” he noted, acknowledging the challenges farmers face operating on difficult terrain.

Minister Green also highlighted that the tractors and implements will help address the labour shortage within the sector.

“As we see a reduction in available labour, we have to increase output by introducing more tractors and technology-based solutions into our agricultural spaces,” he added.

The agriculture minister said the tractors and implements, which include bush cutters, bedders, potato/onion harvesters, and mounted seed planters, will serve the parishes of Trelawny, St Mary, St Ann, and St Andrew. He said these parishes host several hillside farmers, which requires this sort of mechanization to be proficient.

“In all of those areas we have high amounts of hillside farmers that need this sort of mechanisation, and we are happy for it,” Green shared.

Farmers will be able to access these tractors at an affordable rate through RADA.

Beyond the tractors, Minister Green noted several other significant benefits derived from the project, including, training for farmers through farmer field schools, ecological assessments conducted by UWI to support evidence-based agricultural policy and the restoration of the Castleton Botanical Gardens, with over $157 million allocated for improvements including solar infrastructure and restrooms.

Similarly, Head of Delegation of the EU to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas, Her Excellency Dr. Erja Askola, also emphasised that the tractors, and the project overall, will play a much more vital role than simply assisting farmers with land preparation.

“They will serve the environment, sustainability, economy, the people and they will especially serve to reduce soil erosion and increase the resilience to climate change. This long-standing project has been supporting the Government to tackle these challenges and the Jamaican ecosystems and communities, literally from the Blue Mountains to the Caribbean Sea,” Her Excellency Askola said.

The European Union has been a trusted partner in Jamaica’s development for over 50 years, and remains one of the largest providers of grant resources to the nation.
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