Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says discussions will be held with private landowners for them to lease thousands of acres to farmers. Delivering the keynote address at the St. Mary Agricultural Show, held on April 22 at the Gray’s Inn Sports Complex in Annotto Bay, Mr. Shaw said while the Ministry is making State-owned lands...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, has informed that the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) will be transitioning from a government to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) over the next two years. “This means that the JAS will have to stand on its own two feet, and it will have to make money,...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says a land bank is being developed, geared at pinpointing properties across Jamaica that are suitable for agriculture, but are not being used. Speaking at the opening ceremony for the Small Business Association of Jamaica’s (SBAJ) second regional Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Conference on April 17 at The...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Jamaica Trade Information Portal is expected to go live in May. Mr. Shaw made the announcement at the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) second regional Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Caribbean Conference 2019 on April 17, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. He said...

A university lecturer is encouraging farmers across the island to adopt climate-smart practices in order to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters. Dean of Science and Technology at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Michael A. Taylor, said that with rising temperatures, unpredictability of rain, drought and other climatic phenomena, farmers will have to...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government has identified four distinct markets for locally grown foods. These markets, he notes, are the hotel industry; the CARICOM region, where fresh and processed foods can be exported duty-free; the diaspora, and the national school-feeding programme, which will see children eating fresh foods, instead of imported and...

The Coconut Industry Board (CIB) will be undertaking measures in the new financial year aimed at expanding the industry. This entity is looking to acquire property at Water Valley in St. Mary or other location to establish a new seed garden, nursery and farm that will facilitate the construction of coconut water and oil factories. In addition, the organisation will...