The National Irrigation Commission (NIC) has reiterated its commitment to reducing barriers to entry for persons wishing to get involved in farming.

The Commission is responsible for delivering irrigation services through its schemes across the island.

Public Relations Specialist with the Commission, Christeen Forbes, said water is crucial to agriculture, and when persons entering the sector have no clear and consistent access it creates a significant roadblock.

“Water means food. Every time we interact with a regular citizen they would say ‘there is water up by where I live; why can’t NIC come and help us to get the water’, We have to get a licence from the Water Resources Authority to dig wells and search for water, so it is not very easy,” she explained.

Ms. Forbes, who was speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank at the agency’s Television Department, 5-9 South Odeon Avenue in Kingston, also said the established irrigation schemes across Jamaica exist to help persons in need.

“We have 16 of them across the southern belt, in Trelawny, St. James and the Eastern Parishes. So, if you are located within any of these irrigation schemes, then you may start an application online by visiting our website at www.nicjamaica.com. Become a customer and start the process there,” she said.

For persons with potential water sources on their properties, the NIC can investigate but there is no guarantee that water sources persons find will stay reliable for years to come.

“It takes a lot of investment… working with hydrologists and other experts, finding the water source, because what you don’t want is to invest millions in a system and then after two or three years the water production is no more. That’s not strategic, that’s not forward-thinking, so these are some of the things that we consider,” Ms. Forbes said.

“We understand that with climate change the demand for reliable irrigation service increases, and that is why we have all of these projects that we are testing. We are doing the feasibility studies to see if they are practical and then from that take the next steps,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Forbes said farmers should reach out to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), to access technical expertise from the Authority’s on-farm water unit.

“They engage farmers in every parish about how they can utilise rainwater harvesting. We also have a programme where if you are not located in any of our irrigation schemes and you are not within a reasonable distance of a water filling station, there are rehabilitation projects that can help,” she said.

To find out how the NIC can help you, persons can reach out to the Commission at (876) 977-4022/6727 or (876) 618-0172.