The National Irrigation Commission (NIC) plans to undertake approximately 700 metres of canal rehabilitation and 1,400 metres of pipeline replacement as part of measures to address dry conditions and ensure that farmers have adequate access to irrigation.

The pipeline replacement will resolve water loss from leaks, ensuring more reliable water distribution for farmers and other customers, said Director of Engineering and Technical Services at NIC, Rohan Stewart.

He was providing details about the NIC’s drought mitigation strategies during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the agency’s Television Department in Kingston on Wednesday (July 1).

Mr. Stewart said that the agency’s systems are integrated as part of its approach to drought management and addressing water scarcity.

“We try as much as possible not to have one source in supplying an area,” he pointed out.

Mr. Stewart said that the agency also continues to partner with organisations “that will be able to reach our customers”.

Public Education Specialist at the NIC, Christeen Forbes, said that the drought mitigation measures form part of the Government’s wider climate change response.

The aim is to ensure that farmers and other customers continue to be served even when water supplies are reduced.

“There are long-term and the short-term drought mitigation strategies. There are things that the Government is doing on a larger scale, and there are things that our farmers need to do to ensure that we can mitigate the impacts of this drought, and we don’t have to be dealing too much with scarcity in food production,” Ms. Forbes pointed out.

The NIC is also encouraging farmers to serve as partners in drought mitigation by practising water conservation, particularly during periods of scarcity.

“Not just our customers, but farmers in general… need to utilise water very efficiently. We are partnering with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and other State agencies to get to [them] and say, ‘we need to do better at what we do’. So, in the case of a drought or some other event, [where] we are providing you with the water, use it as efficiently as possible,” Mr. Stewart said.