The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) says cocoa production is expected to bounce back for the 2026/2027 crop period, which begins this October and runs through to September of next year. The positive outlook is based on the significant investment in recovery efforts through the provision of seedlings, fertilisers and technical support after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Addressing...

Poultry farmers across the island are being encouraged to take proactive measures to manage heat stress in their flocks, as rising temperatures are expected in the coming months. Senior Plant Health and Food Safety Officer with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Francine Webb, noted that temperatures are expected to rise during the April to June period. “Below normal rainfall...

Acting Director General of the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), Wayne Hunter, says $132 million has been spent on the rehabilitation of the coffee sector. The support follows the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the sector and features the provision of seedlings and agricultural inputs. Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Mr. Hunter said the spend was made...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, has confirmed that through direct intervention the Ministry has secured commitments from major agro-processors to move over 600,000 pounds of scallion from the New Forest Agro-Park in Manchester, which has excess production of the crop. He made the announcement at the Agro-Invest Corporation (AIC) Farmers’ Market 2026, held on Thursday (April...

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is encouraging farmers across the island to prepare their operations for varying weather conditions expected over the next five months. With the transition from the La Niña to the El Niño climate pattern, the Caribbean is expected to experience drier and hotter conditions. Senior RADA Plant Health and Food Safety Officer, Francine Webb, notes...

CB Group is pumping $1 billion into the construction of two new high-tech, climate-smart facilities that will significantly boost the country’s egg and pig production. These are a modern 40,000-bird tunnel-ventilated layer farm to be operational by September 2026, and a 640-sow commercial breeding farm projected to produce approximately 15,000 piglets annually. The projects will anchor the company’s ‘The Time...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says strengthening agriculture and fisheries is essential to advancing Jamaica’s agri-tourism agenda. “For you to have a strong agri-tourism, you have to have strong on both sides… you have to have a strong agricultural base… and then a strong tourism base, and then opportunity for linkages on both,” the Minister said....