Rayon Dyer, Gleaner Writer

BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth:

DESPITE EFFORTS to revive the island's pimento industry in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, which occurred two years ago, pimento production is still at a low and some farmers are still requesting seedlings.

Leroy Bruce, a pimento farmer in Stanmore, near Malvern in St. Elizabeth, told Farmers Weekly that pimento farmers who suffered severe damage to their farms were given $150 dollars per tree to facilitate the replanting process. However, he lamented that it was not enough to return production to pre-Ivan levels.

"We did our best with what was available to us, and if all the allotted pimento seedlings were handed over to us, the industry in St. Elizabeth would have been back on a sound footing," Mr. Bruce contended.

He said that he was very disappointed with the rehabilitation programme.

Millions given

But Fermin Francis, a representative of the Pimento Industry Board, said that from the 5,231 claims submitted, over 1,700 farmers received seedlings and compensation in St. Elizabeth valued at $13 million. She said to date, $37 million was paid out to farmers across the island.

"From our standpoint, the Pimento Industry will revive and the farmers themselves have to be a part of this rebuilding process," Ms. Francis said, adding that "approximately 2,000 seedlings are still at our offices, which the farmers are free to come and collect."

"There is no doubt that the pimento industry took a dive in late 2004, and while the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is not directly responsible for this sector, we assisted the Pimento Industry Board to identify the farmers who had suffered severe losses to their farms," said Elton Bent, head of the RADA St. Elizabeth office.

He noted that there was need for an urgent action plan to rebuild the industry in the parish.