Agriculture’s Centre of Excellence Opens March 18

The Ministry of Agriculture’s Centre of Excellence, which will be officially launched on March 18, at Bodles Research Station, St. Catherine, is geared to become the nexus for co-operation on agriculture.
Director of the Centre, Dr. Wayne Henry, told JIS News that the Centre will be the “nexus for regional and international co-operation on agriculture”, and that the Government of Spain, through its Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jesus Silva, has pledged support.
He said that it will co-ordinate training for farmers and service providers, and will bring services and findings together for end-users.
The work of the centre is guided by a 15-member advisory board, comprising representatives from critical areas, such as agro-processing; as well as the Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) , the Heart Trust, the University of the West Indies (UWI), University of Technology (UTech) and Northern Caribbean University (NCU).
The work of the centre will cover data collection, as well as create a databank which will act as a repository of collated information to inform development of the agricultural sector.
“The centre will look at the needs of the sector and how best to meet them and initiate support, accordingly,” Dr. Henry explained.
Many international agencies, as well as representatives from various Government Ministries and private sector entities are expected to attend the launch.