Newport-Fersan donates $25m worth of fertiliser for hurricane-hit farmers

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has received a major boost for the sector’s recovery, with Newport-Fersan (Jamaica) Limited donating $25 million worth of fertiliser for farmers severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.

During the handover ceremony on Thursday, at Newport-Fersan’s headquarters in Kingston, portfolio minister lauded the fertiliser company as a “friend in every time”, highlighting its consistent and loyal partnership with the agricultural sector.

“Newport-Fersan has proven to be one of our most long-standing and loyal partners in the agricultural sector, and we all know that the agricultural sector is susceptible to these sorts of climatic events,” he said.

The handover, which represents more than 7,000 bags of fertilizer, comes amid a high-demand for the product.

“You can rest assured that Newport-Fersan is going to help, and that does provide a lot of confidence for us to move forward to engage our farmers. And you would have heard it – Newport-Fersan is donating something that, right now, every farmer is trying to put their hands on as a part of the recovery effort, and that is fertiliser,” Minister Green said.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Newport-Fersan, Dennis Valdez, noted that the company is celebrating 20 years of operations in Jamaica, where it has contributed to strengthening and developing the country’s agricultural sector.

“It is, therefore, particularly meaningful that in this milestone year, we once again step forward in a moment of national need,” Mr. Valdez said.

He explained that the contribution of fertilisers is part of a broader $40-million relief package from the Fersan Group, which includes $9 million in direct support to farmers through outreach and technical programmes and $5 million in support to members of Fersan staff and families who were personally affected by the hurricane.

“This is not a symbolic gesture. This is partnership. This is national responsibility. This is our contribution to rebuilding the agricultural backbone of Jamaica,” said Valdez.

Meanwhile, Minister Green noted that he fertiliser donation is the second major intervention by the company in as many years.

Last year following Hurricane Beryl, which caused $7 billion in damage, Newport-Fersan was among the first to step forward, offering $15 million in support.

Green pointed out that Hurricane Melissa was “the most catastrophic that we have seen to our sectors”, with the World Bank model suggesting up to $60 billion in losses for the agricultural and fisheries sectors.

The destruction across the sector includes a 100 per cent loss for the banana and plantain crops, about 70 per cent of yam and almost all of the country’s vegetable lines.

Additionally, over 1.1 million birds (layer chickens and broilers) died in the storm, and major damage has been seen in the fishery sector in terms of boats and fishing beaches.

- JIS News

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