The government of Jamaica has put systems in place in readiness for drought expectations in the wake of heavy precipitation.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green on December 17, 2024 confirmed of purchasing irrigation kits worth 120 million Jamaican dollars ($763,200).
Farmers who farm diverse produce will receive the irrigation equipment in the dryness timeline between January and March 2025.
Radio Jamaica quoted the Minister saying that the spending aims to “help out farmers withstand any dryness” in Q1, 2025.
Water for irrigation will come from retention reservoirs that are currently full after their maximization in the foregoing rainy season.
Outside irrigation circles, there are also trials underway to network farmers with private tractor and drone services.
This is a facet of the ongoing agricultural mechanization and technological support that will constitute much of Jamaica’s farming future.
Besides, open sea fisheries in the Caribbean nation will get a technological revamp through the set up of fans that attract fish.
The ministry has already put out nine such devices in place to expedite fishing by eliminating trial and error harvesting.
Concerning changing weather, the government had before December 5 begun planning for dryness by first ordering tanks and drip irrigation equipment.
The country is prone to extreme climatic phenomena from summer cyclones to heavy rains originating from the Caribbean Sea. In 2023, the Inform Risk Index placed Jamaica at position 47 among 191 nations most vulnerable to climatic effects.
All in all, the country boasts bold farming policies that defy weather odds to emerge a regional agricultural powerhouse. The statistics below illustrate this leap by Jamaica as a major agricultural nation.
Jamaica Agricultural Statistics
Jamaica enjoys a tropical climate with chances of rain throughout the year and generally warm weather most of the year. This helps bring crop diversity, which in turn ensures exports of diverse horticultural produce to temperate destinations including the United States. The combination of diverse production and lucrative export destinations has helped Jamaica achieve agriculture-derived GDP worth US$16,001,000,000 in Q1, 2024. The previous average of agricultural contribution to the national GDP from 1996 to 2023 was US$12,312,480,000. The lowest contribution of agricultural GDP was in Q4, 2004 at just US$7,631,000,000.
What is the percentage of agricultural production to the national GDP in Jamaica?
As the above data shows, the representation of agriculture in the national economy is in billions of American dollars. Regarding its contribution as a fraction of the economy, agriculture represented 9.02% of the economy in 2023. This was an improvement from the three-decade average of 6.57%, between 1993 and 2023. However, at the international level, Jamaica fares poorly as the world’s agricultural share in economies averages 10.25%, based on 152 nations.
What is the agricultural production rank of Jamaica worldwide?
In 2023, Jamaica ranked 112th in the world for total agricultural production at US$1,743,393,000. In comparative terms, the world’s leading agricultural nation, China, had a production value of US$1,654,706,847,000.
What are the major crops of Jamaica?
With over 1 million hectares under farmland, Jamaica farms mostly commercial crops. The most important include sugar, citrus fruits, tobacco and multiple other vegetables, while bananas lead in subsistence farming.