Players in the local coconut industry are being encouraged to do more to take advantage of high-value niche markets. Deputy Programme Manager at the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Tristan Alvarez, who was speaking with JIS News recently, noted that currently, stakeholders focus on coconut water, oil and desiccated coconut [dried and grated meat], but there are other...

Farmers across the country are being advised to be on high alert for an increase in the beet armyworm population. Spodoptera exigua, more commonly known as the beet armyworm, is a destructive pest of onion and scallion in Jamaica. Senior Plant Health and Food Safety Officer with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Francine Webb, said the pest population is...

Coconut farmers will receive ongoing support from the Coconut Industry Board (CIB) following the completion of the European Union-funded Alliances for Coconut Industry Development, Expansion, and Enhanced Support for the Caribbean (ACIDEES) project. Since implementation in 2015, the project has helped build critical linkages, revised the regional standard of coconut water and facilitated knowledge transfer and improvements in technical cooperation...

Citizens residing in western Jamaica are being invited to participate in a plant sale being staged by the Forestry Department in recognition of International Day of Forests, on Thursday (March 21). The one-day event will be held at the entity’s northwest regional office located at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Complex in Catherine Hall, St. James, from 10:00 a.m....

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, has reiterated his continued support for the implementation of the Blue Transformation approach in the Region. Blue Transformation proposes sustainable aquaculture production, effective fisheries management, and improved value chains. Minister Green, who was speaking on March 19 at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) four-day regional conference,...

Patrons attending the St. Mary Agri-Expo on Monday, April 1, will experience the addition of a Youth in Agriculture Village. This year’s activities will be held under the theme ‘Nourishing our future; Safeguarding farms, ensuring food security’. President of the St. Mary Associate Branch Society, the parish arm of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, Fabian Rhule, said this year’s show, the...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says there is an uptick in domestic Irish potato production. Mr. Green, who spoke with JIS News following a recent tour of potato and hot pepper farms in Hinds Town, St. Ann, said he was impressed with the level of production by the country’s farmers so far this year. “We have...

This year’s staging of the Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James will take place on Monday, April 1, beginning at 8:00 a.m. President of the St. James Branch of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, told JIS News in an interview that patrons can expect many different displays. “Persons will be able to access chemicals used for insects and...

The Westmoreland Public Health Department is partnering with the Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company to sensitise cane cutters in the parish about protecting themselves from leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by the leptospira bacteria, which can potentially lead to fatal infection of the kidney, liver, brain, lungs or heart. Among the carriers of the virus are rodents, cattle, pigs, horses,...