The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, intends to reassure farmers affected by drought that additional support is underway. He stated: “The agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate-based disasters, with severe weather conditions generally being a major challenge for the sector. This has resulted in estimated losses of approximately J$196 billion dollars between 2004 and 2017, leading to production losses in the agricultural sector.”
“We are apprised of the urgency of a strategic response at this critical time to mitigate the fallout from the impact of the ongoing meteorological drought, especially as the sector accounts for 7.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and directly impacts the livelihood of approximately 250,000 registered farmers.”
Source: jamaicaobserver.com
