Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Jamaica, Paola Amadei, has charged the Jamaican Government to ensure that the target audience reaps the benefits from a JMD 10 million project being funded by the EU to resuscitate the country's aquaculture industry.
“I wish this will not become another paper. Too often that happens with all the best intentions we get the best experts in the field and they write a paper without really any of it affecting the beneficiaries, which doesn’t make sense,” he told a validation workshop at the Farmers Training Centre in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.
Jamaica is a beneficiary of the EUR 30 million ACP Fish II Program funded by the EU to strengthen fisheries management, improve food security and alleviate poverty in 78 ACP countries. It comes at a time when the local industry is experiencing a serious decline in aquaculture products, with last year figure of 1,149 metric tons (MT) well below the 2006 high of 8,019 MT.
Meanwhile, Roger Clarke, minister of agriculture and fisheries, gave an assurance that the Government would ramp up its efforts to resuscitate this once-vibrant industry. He pointed to the ban on the importation of whole tilapia — fresh or frozen. While admitting that there was a breach of the waiver for tilapia fillet for the quick-service restaurants and hotel market, with some of the produce finding its way on to the open market, he noted that steps had been taken to prevent any recurrence.
