By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterIN THE wake of revelations about the multimillion-dollar indebtedness of several Government ministries and state agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture appears to be doing 'not too badly'.
During last Tuesday's sitting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Dr. Richard Harrison, the Permanent Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, was questioned on several concerns outlined in the 2001/02 Auditor-General's report.
But unlike the financial problems revealed during similar PAC meetings with the ministries of National Security, Justice and most recently Health, no serious debt issues came to the fore. Instead, the responses from the Agriculture Ministry indicated that concerns had, for Auditor-General Adrian Strachan, as well as the members of the PAC, been dealt with satisfactorily.
"They do have some things they have to deal with, but they don't seem to be doing too badly," PAC chairman Audley Shaw told The Gleaner after the sitting.
He added: "It would be good if the Tree Crop Programme could be expanded and more farmers could be made aware (of it)."
Mr. Shaw was referring to a tree planting project within the Ministry which, since its 1999 inception, has expended $42 million and has provided farmers with planting materials such as seedlings and trees.
According to Dr. Harrison, the programme aims to increase acreages of orchards through the organised planting of 'economic' trees.
"We target a number of crops including ackee, guava, mango, tamarind, soursop and Jew plum," he told the committee. Dr. Harrison noted, however, that of the 726 hectares of various types of trees already planted under the programme islandwide, 75 per cent is dedicated to the ackee plant.
Dr. Patrick Harris, Government Member of Parliament, lauded the programme, but suggested there were other crops, such as the pomegranate, that could be incorporated.
"What it means is that these substances are going to be used to treat simple illnesses and boost the immune system," Dr. Harris added.
During the meeting, Mr. Shaw put the issue of limited publicity surrounding the programme to the Permanent Secretary. But Dr. Harrison suggested that if the programme had been more heavily publicised, the entire project may have collapsed due to limited resources.
"The programme is very well subscribed and we really had quite a bit on our hands in dealing with the applications that came in," he said.
Despite further queries, Dr. Harrison was unable to provide an on-the-spot cost estimate of expanding the Tree Crop Programme.
