Will this waiver on greenhouse products helps the ailing agriculture sector?

Posted by fdixon on July 27, 2010

Finance minister Audley Shaw recently announced the government’s willingness to grant waiver to persons wanting to set up greenhouses. What will this waiver do for agriculture in Jamaica?

According to The Sunday Gleaner, “All the green house material that’s wanted in Jamiaca, I’ll sign waivers for it,” said Audley Shaw. 

Certainly, some good news for farmers who want to set up greenhouses to grow plants, but many farmers probably don’t know about it. 

Jamaica Greenhouse Growers Association (JGGA), Technical team leader, Burrell Scarlett said the entire greenhouse industry and the agriculture fraternity welcomes the decision to reopen  the waiver system that will allow for duty-free importation of construction material for greenhouses.

However, he said JGGA has not been affected by the suspension since it had no waivers pending, but the issue had been a matter of concern.

Recently, the government has made a decision to suspend the number of waiver it grants, pending a review of the system. This comes in light of a fraud uncovered in the finance ministry relating to the issuance of waivers.

Do you agree with the decision to reopen waivers? How do you think  this will impact the greenhouse industry?