Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke has indicated that the sanitary and heath facilities on the Pedro Cays will be upgraded. He also emphasised that the  Fisheries Division would  not be tolerating unauthorised or unlicensed persons on the Cays. “As most of you are aware, the annual licensing exercise of fishers and vessels that operate from this area was completed at...

Agriculture Minister, Roger Clarke has called for stronger participation and support on the part of local stakeholders to help with the successful management and monitoring of the island’s forests. The Minister, who was delivering the keynote address today at the launch of the Manual of Dendrology by the Forestry Department of the Agriculture Ministry at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston,...

Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke has declared that the country’s sugar industry could be successfully sustained, reiterating that the government stood committed to the survival of the industry. He was speaking at the 12th anniversary launch of the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmer’s Association’s National Cane Cutter’s Competition, 2004, which was held at the offices of Desnoes and Geddes Limited....

Two new species of plants have been found in the Island over the last three years. Officers of the Forestry Department discovered the first almost three years ago, during an inventory in the Dolphin Head Mountains/Retirement Forest Reserves. The unusual flowering/fruiting Erythrina was sent to the Institute of Jamaica for certification. The Institute identified the species as ‘Erythrina berteroana’, a...

The Jamaica 4-H Clubs has received an industrial stove valued at just under $200,000, donated by JAMALCo for a Food Preparation and Floral Arrangement training programme. The stove was officially handed over on January 9 at the Denbigh 4-H Centre in Clarendon, where the training is conducted. Accepting the donation, Executive Director of the 4-H Clubs, Lenworth Fulton expressed his...

Cranbrook Flower Forest and River Head Adventure Trail, a unique Jamaican eco-tourism attraction, situated in the cool hills of Laughlands, in the garden parish of St. Ann, is moving to satisfy visitors’ requests to establish a facility to host large weddings and conferences. There are now plans to construct an auditorium, at an estimated cost of $5 million. This 52-hectare...

Agricultural production in St. Ann rebounded in 2003, recording growth for three successive quarters, following a year, which saw low output in 2002. Vivian Kildare, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Parish Manager, told JIS News that production declined by 27 per cent in 2002, resulting from seedlings and vegetable nurseries that were set back considerably by the May-June flood rains...