The Japanese government is investing just under US$107,000 (J$11 million) to resuscitate the local West Indian Sea Island Cotton industry, for which there is an annual global demand of six-million pounds of lint.
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| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Roger Clarke (left) looks on |
Less than one per cent of that amount is being supplied now.
The money from the Japanese will be used to purchase a row-crop tractor, a high-crop tractor, two boom sprayers, and a cultivator which are vital to get Jamaica on track to tap into this lucrative market where it enjoys significant competitive advantages.
Sea Island Cotton is grown commercially in Antigua, Barbados, Nevis and Jamaica. However, Jamaica is the only island capable of large production at this time.
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| Bales of Sea Island Cotton |
Addressing the signing ceremony last Tuesday, Dalkeith Hanna, chairman of the Jamaica Agricultural Development Foundation (JADF), said that there is a niche to be filled.
Hanna - who represents Jamaica on the Board of the West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association (WISICA), the organisation which owns and controls the trademark - said there are few other crops which can compete with its potential for value addition. more
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