The Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit (PLPU) in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries is now accepting entries for its National Poster and Essay Competitions. Praedial Larceny Prevention Coordinator, Trudy-Ann Edwards, said that the competitions “form part of the Ministry’s public education campaign aimed at sensitising Jamaicans about the negative extent, nature and magnitude of praedial larceny”. The competitions,...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, has commended the European Union (EU) for its support to Jamaica through the Sugar Transformation Programme. Mr. Samuda was speaking during a familiarisation tour of the Clarks Town Branch Library in Trelawny on November 2, accompanied by members of the European Union Delegation, including Head of Delegation, Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska....

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF), Hon. Karl Samuda, is expressing optimism for the sugar industry. Addressing the 80th Annual Conference of the Jamaica Association of Sugar Technologists (JAST), at RIU Ocho Rios resort, in St. Ann on Thursday (November 2), Mr. Samuda implored the stakeholders to press ahead with their cultivation, as it has been a ‘tried,...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says the Ministry will be working to assist farmers, to ensure there is continuous growth in the sector. He notes that the Ministry has been looking at making seedlings for Irish potato, onion and Scotch bonnet pepper available to individuals as part of an Agricultural...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, says his mission is to see Jamaica producing enough surplus in all agricultural areas, leading to exports and an increase in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). “All that we do is dependent on the extent to which we can produce more, and we must produce more at a level...

The HEART Trust/NTA has developed five courses aimed at ensuring competency in bamboo harvesting and processing. This is in keeping with the Government’s move to embark on the large-scale commercial production of bamboo in order to tap into the lucrative international market and provide opportunities for employment and community-based initiatives. The courses are bamboo ply technology, bamboo charcoal processing, bamboo...

Eighty young people from communities in and around Peckham, Clarendon, have been trained and certified in the production of bamboo by-products, including the infusion of bamboo in light-emitting diode (LED) technology. The training was conducted under the Peckham Bamboo Project, which is being undertaken through US$130,000 from the Organization of American States (OAS). The Embassy of China also provided $1.5...

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) held a training session for farmers in Manchester and St. Elizabeth on October 23, to remind them of the best practices to prevent the resurgence of the Beet Army Worm (BAW). The session was held at the New Forest/Duff House location on the border of both parishes, where the pest has impacted some crops,...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, has re-emphasised the need for farmers to officially register with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), in order to benefit from State programmes. Addressing farmers at a National Irish Potato Stakeholders’ Seminar, in Claremont, St. Ann, on October 18, Mr. Hutchinson said agriculture is a...