Agriculture Ministry Boosting Production for Local and Int’l Markets

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says focus is being placed on boosting agricultural production in order to tap into local and international value chains.

“This Government is committed to building the value chain. We have to grow (production) first and put it through the value chain, process it and you have some for local sale and you have some for export sale,” he said.

The Minister, who was addressing the just-concluded Jamaica International Exhibition (JIE), held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, said that five undeveloped markets have been identified in this regard.

These are the tourism sector; CARICOM; the Jamaican Diaspora in the United States, England and Canada; third country markets that require exotic produce; and the school-feeding programme.

“For the school-feeding programme we will provide nutritional products that are produced in Jamaica, which will allow, at the same time, for our small farmers to move from poverty to prosperity,” Mr. Shaw said.

The three-day JIE, staged by the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (JMEA), attracted over 80 exhibitors and 180 buyers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean.

It as held under the theme ‘Breaking barriers and building bridges’.