PNP outlines plan to help farmers through dedicated agricultural fund

WESTERN BUREAU:

With some 200,000 Jamaicans relying on farming for their livelihoods, and agricultural funding among the lowest in the country, the People’s National Party (PNP) says it will be seeking to establish an Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) to empower small farmers, boost productivity, and modernise the nation’s food production.

Addressing a People’s National Party (PNP) divisional meeting in Darliston, in Westmoreland Eastern on Thursday, the party’s general secretary, Dr Dayton Campbell, said that, if elected to form the next government, the PNP would provide farmers with better access to land, credit, technology, irrigation, and post-harvest storage.

Campbell will be seeking to unseat the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Daniel Lawrence in the constituency in the impending general election.

“Our farmers have been neglected for too long, and one of the main things we need to address is changing the perception of farming and agriculture. They tricked us into believing that if you don’t do well in school, you go into farming. That is not so; farming is a legitimate career path, and we want our farmers to make money and be rich,” said Campbell.

He criticised the absence of a dedicated agricultural fund, particularly when other sectors benefit from targeted financing, such as the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the National Health Fund, and the Universal Service Fund. He argued that the sector responsible for feeding the nation deserves the same level of structured support.

In explaining the vision behind the proposed ADF, Campbell said it would serve as a long-term investment vehicle to finance critical needs in the sector, particularly for small-scale farmers.

“Under the next PNP government, we will implement the Agricultural Development Fund so we can truly support our farmers,” declared Campbell. “What will we do with this fund? First, we must ensure proper access to land for our farmers. The Government is the largest landowner, yet we still have idle lands while farmers struggle to find available plots for production. We will review the inventory of all arable land in the country and make plots available to farmers to boost agricultural output.”

‘Move our people forward’

However, Campbell said the party would not support situations where individuals who might acquire these lands and then not utilise them for agricultural production.

“If, after five years, you’re not making use of the land, we will reclaim it and give it to someone who means business, someone ready to produce and feed this nation,” said Campbell, who nonetheless acknowledged that labour shortages have made farming more challenging, particularly in land preparation.

“We want to move our people forward. We don’t want generations of farmers relying solely on pickaxes and machetes. While some traditional methods may still be necessary, we must ensure that in key agricultural areas, proper equipment is available to aid land preparation. Land preparation will be one of the major initiatives supported under the Agricultural Development Fund,” he said.

Campbell went on to criticise what he labelled the inadequate funding of the National People’s Co-operative Bank of Jamaica Limited (NPCB), an institution that was created to support rural agricultural and community development.

“The PC Bank doesn’t currently have anything to help anybody,” said Campbell, in referencing the NPCB, which was established in 1905 and originally evolved from a cooperative savings and loan institution into a key player in Jamaica’s agricultural credit sector. The bank was once used by the Government for post-disaster relief.

“We will allocate a percentage of the Agricultural Development Fund to the PC Bank so that the average farmer in Darliston can access loans for production,” said Campbell.

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