One hundred and nineteen employees of the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) Limited, an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, were on Wednesday, November 14, honoured for their years of service at a Long Service Anniversary Luncheon and Awards Banquet held, at the Golf View Hotel, Mandeville.

Chief Technical Director, Special Projects in the Ministry, of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries who gave the keynote address on behalf of Minister, the Hon. Audley Shaw, lauded the workers for the value they have added to the NIC since the commencement of its operations.

“We should never lose sight of the importance and impact of our greatest assets, our human capital, our staff.  Through your dedication and hard work, the NIC has been able to deliver on its mandate of supporting the expansion of the agricultural sector, and by extension, contributed to the growth and development of the Jamaican economy”, Mr. Cole said.

He further stated that the scope of the agency’s work towards supporting national growth is highlighted when we consider the many large agricultural projects that have been undertaken over the years in the parishes of St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Trelawny.

The honourees, who were attached to various regions island-wide, were recognized for service ranging from 10 to over 25 years.

Twenty-one employees were recognized for 10-14 years; fifteen for 15-19 years of service; twenty-four for 20-24 years and thirty-eight for 25 years and over.  Eleven retirees were also recognized.

The role of the National Irrigation Commission is to provide irrigation services to the agricultural sector by developing potential sources of irrigation water, and to manage these together with existing resources, by providing effective and efficient delivery systems up to farm-gate.