Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says young people should lead a campaign for healthy diets. The Minister said with Jamaica recording 12,773 deaths in 2014 due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the economy to lose up to US$17.2 billion in output over the next 15 years, there is an urgent...

A new Fisheries Bill, aimed at further safeguarding the local sector, is to be tabled in Parliament shortly. The Bill, which will replace the Fisheries Act of 1976, will establish the legal and regulatory framework that creates the enabling environment for the sector’s sustainable growth. This includes ramping up measures to tackle poaching and unregulated fishing in Jamaican waters, Industry,...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says agriculture continues to play a critical role in the country’s economic development. Dr. Chang, who was speaking at the annual Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James on April 17, added that, along with tourism, agriculture represents one of the best foundations for growth...

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries will be setting up school gardens at six institutions in eastern St. Thomas. Minister without portfolio, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says that produce from the gardens will go towards breakfast programmes at the schools. The gardens, he said, will be overseen by a broad-based committee comprising the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, past student associations,...

Farm supply stores are being urged to partner with the Government to provide technical assistance to farmers in a bid to boost the country’s agricultural outputs. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, who made the call, said the “Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) alone cannot do the job”. “With 220,000 farmers (and) 120...

The Government is looking to amend the Agricultural Produce Act to increase fines for offences from a maximum of $250,000 to $3 million or up to five years imprisonment. Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, said the move is part of strategies to combat praedial larceny. He said the amendments will include a redefinition of praedial...

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, is encouraging bee farmers to increase value added production in order to maximise earnings. He noted that while beekeeping is a billion-dollar industry, a significant portion of this money is from the sale of primary products. “If the industry is to reach its true potential,...

Debate on a Bill seeking to modernise the agricultural sector to meet the demands of increased food security and agricultural productivity began in the House of Representatives on April 12. Piloting the Bill – The Agricultural Loan Societies and Approved Organisations Act – Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, said the modernisation process involves streamlining certain...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government’s involvement in the sugar industry is to ensure effective management in the short term. According to Mr. Holness, the intervention at the Clarendon-based Monymusk Sugar Factory has informed him that once effective management of the industry’s culture, money and technology is in place, sugar can survive. The Prime Minister, who...