Rayon Dyer, Gleaner Writer

Black River, St. Elizabeth:

Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport, Works, Water & Housing, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says more effort should be made to expand organic farming, as well as modern technology to realise the true potential of the agricultural sector.

"Let us find ways as to how we can develop and expand organic farming in this country. Look at how the world is moving now, organic farming is getting world-wide support and we need to tap into that kind of market," he told a gathering of St. Elizabeth residents last week. "Agriculture is critical and if we allow it to go down, too much pressure is going to be on the economy," he contended.

He stressed, however, that farmers should be equipped with the right tools and the right market to exploit the full potential of the sector. He also noted that the approach to farming has to be a new one that would bring farmers under one umbrella to produce effectively.

Most residents in the parish depend on agriculture for their livelihood, but with the limited knowledge of those farmers in contemporary methods of crop techniques, varietymanagement/selection as well as soil protection, farming has been on the decline.