Agriculture Ministry urged to facilitate quick replanting of fruit trees

   

There is an urgent call for the Ministry of Agriculture to begin the replanting of fruit trees destroyed during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

 

Glen Pitter, Member of the Manchester Development Committee, made the appeal after seeing the destruction of a variety of fruit trees in several communities on the southern end of the parish.

 

Mr. Pitter, who is also Public Relations Officer for the Community Development Area, says the organisation had developed a plan to replant fruit trees that were destroyed by bauxite mining.

 

But with the passage of the hurricane, he says the need to replace the lost trees is now even more urgent. 

 

"In this new phase, and with Beryl now, the demand is more and we lost more fruit tree and trees of different varieties because we were only talking about orange, tangerine, grapefruit. Now, we lose our sweet sop, our soursop, mango, star apple, pear," he lamented as he called for urgent assistance. 

 

Mr. Pitter said the distribution of fruit seedlings should be done through non-political channels such as government agencies and community groups. 

 

He was speaking with Radio Jamaica News following the RJRGLEANER Communications Group outreach in Manchester on Sunday.