Jamaica Labour Party caretaker for South West St Elizabeth, Floyd Green, is calling on the Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Derrick Kellier, to urgently address the problem of the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) not being able to provide water to their irrigation schemes in South West St Elizabeth.

Reports are that electricity at the two NIC plants that service farmers in the Hounslow and Beacon areas have been disconnected by the JPS, so they are therefore unable to provide water to the farmers.

Green stated, "Whenever you think that this Government can do no further harm to our farmers, they find a way to make the situation even worse. The farmers in the irrigation zones are the only ones keeping farming in South West St Elizabeth alive, as the others have almost been completely wiped out by the drought. It is a travesty that these farmers who have to pay to utilise the irrigation system are unable to do so because of what is clearly mismanagement of the NIC."

Green urged Minister Kellier and head of the NIC, Dr Mark Richards, to have the situation urgently resolved and to update the country on the liability owed by the NIC to the JPS.