Gov't shies away from importing produce to ensure food safety

 

Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green says food safety, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, is a priority of the government, as it moves to replenish items in short supply for the Christmas season.

 

Minister Green is appealing for patience from consumers as some long term crops recover following the near total wipe out by the hurricane.

 

Major agricultural producer, JP Farms, reported a near 100 per cent loss of its banana and plantain crops.

 

Mr. Green said the ministry will by shying away from importing produce such as bananas out of fear of diseases entering the island.

 

"We do pride food safety significantly. We are a small island, we are susceptible to disease. We have to keep out those diseases. And sometimes people say why we don't take from here, why we don't take from there; it's

largely because the risk is not worth it," he asserted. 

 

Mr. Green said the agriculture industry will have to replenish its banana crops which were lost during the hurricane, as he urged the country to "wait with us".

 

"The banana farmers have shown, you give them the nutritional regime, they follow what you lay out, they'll get back. That's going to take us maybe seven, eight months. But we're not going to bring in bananas because the possibility of having something like TR4, which is that disease that can wipe out our entire banana crop, that we don't have, is too high. So we take that level of vigilance to everything, especially to meat," he insisted.

 

Mr. Green was speaking Thursday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica.