Irish potato cultivation quadruples in St Elizabeth, Jamaica
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, minister without portfolio, JC Hutchinson, told an Irish Potato Production Post Harvest Seminar and Study Tour in Hounslow, St Elizabeth on Friday that cultivation of the staple had quadrupled, with some 60 hectares planted in the December 2016 to January 2017 period.
Under the National Irish Potato Programme, the Government has set a target of achieving self-sufficiency through the planting of 1,200 hectares of the tuber for the 2016/2017 season. The total cost of the programme will be $1 billion (USD 7.5 million) with some $71.3 million (USD 0.5 million) spent, to date, on the purchase of seeds and fertiliser.
source: potatopro.com
