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Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Monique Gibbs (second right), and President, Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Lenworth Fulton (left), discuss the importance of consuming locally grown yam and other ground provisions. Also pictured (from second left), are: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), JAS, Christopher Emanuel; and Project Manager, Lakes Pen Agri-Ventures, Victor Cummings. Occasion was the launch of ‘Eat Jamaican’ Month 2019 at the Mega Mart Wholesale Club on Upper Waterloo Road in St. Andrew on Friday (Nov. 8).

Jamaicans Urged to Consume More Locally Produced Food

Jamaicans are again being urged to consume more locally produced food to aid in reducing the country’s high importation bill which stood at just over US$900 million in 2018. This renewed call comes from Chief Technical Director in the Ministry...

Students participating in a goat scramble during last year's staging of the Minard Livestock Show and Beef Festival.

Preparations In High Gear For Minard Livestock And Beef Festival

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (right), listens to Acting Storage Officer, Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID), Tamara Moore, at a recent open day held at the Ministry's Hope Gardens headquarters in St. Andrew.

Food Storage Division Protecting Public Health

St. Catherine farmer, Alfred Tenn (left); CEO of Home Grown Produce Limited, Damion Young (centre) and St. Elizabeth farmer, Melody Garwood, sign contract for the planting of more red peas, at the launch of the Red Peas Industry Programme, in Spaldings, Clarendon, on November 1. Observing are Chief Agronomist at Bodles Research Centre, Alexi Reid (left) and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson.

More Red Peas to be Planted

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (right), listens to Animal Health Technician at the Ministry, Sharna Frater, at an Open Day staged by the Ministry’s Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID), at Hope Gardens, in St. Andrew, on October 31.

Active Food Safety Programme in Place – Shaw

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, speaks at a recent media briefing at the Ministry, in Hope Gardens, Kingston.

7 years ago Agriculture

Farmers Encouraged To Cooperate With Personnel Tackling Frosty Pod Rot Disease

The Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, is encouraging farmers to cooperate with the Frosty Pod Rot (FPR) Management Programme agents. Frosty pod rot is an airborne disease that can easily spread from one farm to another by the wind. The disease affects cocoa and it is caused by a fungus (Moniliophthora roreri). Speaking earlier this...

7 years ago Agriculture

Minister Shaw Commends Focus on Small Business at Health, Home and Garden Expo

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, has hailed organisers of the Health, Home and Garden Expo (HHG), for highlighting the small business sector. He said that the focus is in keeping with the Government’s emphasis on the development of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) as a key driver of growth. Minister Shaw said the expo,...

Acting Chief Planning Analyst in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Clifford Spencer (left), speaking with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Trade and Markets Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, Juan Cheaz Pelaez, during the recent ‘Climate Change and the Future of Food Security: Positioning Agro-Food Systems for our Health and Wealth’ public forum, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, St. Andrew.

7 years ago Agriculture

More Jamaicans Encouraged To Get Involved In Agriculture

Acting Chief Planning Analyst in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Clifford Spencer, is encouraging more Jamaicans to get involved in agricultural activities in order to support the Government’s thrust of achieving the country’s food security. Speaking at a recent public forum on ‘Climate Change and the Future of Food Security: Positioning Agro-Food Systems for our Health and...

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green (4th left), presents Leroy Gayle (centre), one of the farmers affected by fire in Flagman, St. Elizabeth, with irrigation hoses, during a presentation ceremony at the Pedro Plains Anglican Church hall in the parish, on Friday (October 18). Others (from left) are: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dermon Spence; Principal Director, Field Services and Operations, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Winston Simpson; Acting Principal Finance Officer in the Ministry, Ann-Marie Tomlinson; Chief Executive Officer, RADA, Peter Thompson; Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Dr. Roy McNeil; RADA St. Elizabeth Parish Manager, Nathan Samuels; and farmer, Ian Dowell.

7 years ago Agriculture

Gov’t Spends Just Under $50M to Assist Flagaman Farm Fire Victims

The Government has provided close to $50 million worth of relief supplies for 47 farmers in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth, who suffered losses during a fire in August. The expenditure includes over $14.3 million worth of supplies, comprising 28 black tanks, irrigation fixtures, hoses, more than 100 bags of fertilizer and a variety of seeds, among them - onion, sweet pepper,...

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Monique Gibbs (right), congratulates Chairman of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica

7 years ago AgricultureCommerce

Bureau of Standards Honours 115 Technical Volunteers

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) has recognised the services of approximately 115 technical volunteers for their contribution to the national standards development process. The volunteers were presented with plaques and trophies at a function held on Thursday (Oct. 17), at the Terra Nova Hotel in St. Andrew under the theme: ‘The Power of Volunteerism’. Chief Technical Director in the...

Acting Chief Planning Analyst, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Clifford Spencer, speaks at a public forum on ‘Climate Change and the Future of Food Security: Positioning Agro-Food Systems for our Health and Wealth’, held at The University of the West Indies, Mona, in St. Andrew on Thursday (October 17).

7 years ago Agriculture

Praedial Larceny Unit Being Strengthened

In an effort to eliminate the ongoing effects of praedial larceny in Jamaica, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries is currently strengthening its Praedial Larceny Unit. This was noted by Acting Chief Planning Analyst, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Clifford Spencer, during a public forum on ‘Climate Change and the Future of Food Security: Positioning Agro-Food...

Chief Technical Director at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF), Dr. Roy McNeil (seated, left); Japan Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (JCCCP) National Focal Point, UNDP Jamaica, Eltha Brown (centre, seated); and Director of Field Services at the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Garfield Ewart (third left, seated), with farmers of Cascade in St. Ann, at the closing-out ceremony for a JCCCP Pilot Project, at the Frazer Church of God of Prophecy in Cascade on Tuesday, October 15.

7 years ago AgricultureWater

Farmers In Cascade, St. Ann, Benefit From Irrigation Project

Fifty farmers from Cascade in St. Ann are benefiting from improved access to irrigation, through a $29-million community-based agricultural pilot project. The three-year-old initiative was implemented by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, through the local office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and was financed by the Government of Japan as part of the Japan Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (JCCCP)....