Prime Minister asserts firm commitment to attaining food security

 

Prime Minister Holness has reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring food security. 

 

But, he says there are several hurdles that must be overcome to ensure the country can feed itself, starting with "the will" to pursue and attain this goal.

 

"Number two is the political direction; number three is the technical capacity, and then number four, it is the financial wherewithal; the resources; and then there's this issue of infrastructure."

 

He said the country is "well on our way, in the next ten years, to have all our irrigable lands irrigated."

 

The Prime Minister, speaking at the official launch of the $26 billion Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project in St Elizabeth on Friday, said the government has addressed infrastructure support and the funding of agriculture.

 

Among other initiatives, he said storage facilities, "particularly cold storage," are being put in place, after which "we will have to declare some agricultural special economic zones... which will create a kind of agricultural ecosystem, which will have growing, processing, storage and sales."