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Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Garnet Edmondson (third left), addressing RADA’s Recovery and Resilience Forum held at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining at Hope Gardens, St. Andrew, on Monday (December 1).

RADA Executing Two-Year Plan for Recovery of Agriculture

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is implementing a structured, three-fold plan for the recovery of Jamaica’s agricultural sector, which suffered an estimated $30 billion in damage from Hurricane Melissa. The two-year plan, comprising immediate, medium-term and long-term interventions, mobilises...

Jamaica Country Coordinator, World University Service of Canada (WUSC), Nelsa English-Johnson.

Farmers Benefiting from Donation of Input Supplies by WUSC

Executive Director of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Peter Thomas (third right), observes while Brand Ambassador for the Wambugu Apple, developed in Kenya, Catherine Wambugu (fourth right), leads a recent planting exercise held at the Ebony Park Agro Park in Clarendon.

Youth Farmers Given Opportunity to Grow New Apple from Kenya

General Manager of the Banana Board, Janet Conie, says the Board will be facilitating insurance payouts to banana and plantain farmers affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Farmers to Benefit from Insurance Payments

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, surveys the walk-behind tractors and earth augers that were handed over in a ceremony on Wednesday (November 26), at the Amity Hall Agro-Park in St. Catherine. The equipment will be distributed in parishes with difficult terrain that were not hard hit by Hurricane Melissa, to assist with the agriculture Ministry’s recovery strategy.

Farmers to Get Help with Water Tanks, Drip Irrigation Systems and Water Pumps

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (left), converses with Agri-Invest Corporation (AIC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vivion Scully (centre), and Delta Supply Company Limited Deputy Chaiman, Jonathan Swire, at the handover ceremony for walk-behind tractors and earth augers on Wednesday (November 26) at the Amity Hall Agro-Park in St. Catherine. The equipment will be distributed in parishes with difficult terrain that were not hard hit by Hurricane Melissa, to assist with the Ministry’s recovery strategy.

5 months ago Agriculture

Agriculture Minister Hands Over Equipment to Assist Farmers

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, has handed over six walk-behind tractors and six earth augers to assist farmers in hilly areas to address long-standing issues of labour shortage and mechanisation within the agricultural sector. Speaking at the handover ceremony on November 26 at the Amity Hall Agro-Park in St. Catherine, the Minister pointed out that the...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (left), is briefed by goat farmer, Delarno Small, during a farm tour in Bonnet District, Guys Hill, St. Catherine, on November 20. Also pictured are Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and St. Catherine North Eastern Member of Parliament, Hon. Kerensia Morrison (second row, right); Councillor for the Guys Hill Division, Joseph Johnson (second row, left); and Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Chief Executive Officer, Garnet Edmondson (background).

5 months ago Agriculture

Resilient Farmer Expanding Goat Rearing After Hurricane Melissa Setbacks

Delarno Small, a dedicated farmer from Bonnet District in Guys Hill, St. Catherine, is demonstrating resilience as he recovers from losses sustained during Hurricane Melissa and pursues significant expansion of his goat-rearing operation. The 23-year-old small ruminants farmer has been involved in agriculture his entire life but officially launched his own livestock venture during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with just...

Tagged cows were featured at the 71st Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in May Pen, Clarendon, on August 1. The Agricultural Protection Branch (APB) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) urges farmers to utilise the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS), which will assist the police in reducing praedial larceny and apprehending perpetrators.

5 months ago AgricultureNational Security and Peace

JCF’S Agricultural Protection Branch Urges Farmers to Use NAITS to Combat Praedial Larceny

The Agricultural Protection Branch (APB) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is urging farmers to utilise the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS), as it will assist the police in reducing praedial larceny and catching the perpetrators. The NAITS system employs unique animal tags and passports to generate detailed records of each animal’s identity, owner, location, and movement. This...

St. Catherine North Eastern Member of Parliament, Hon. Kerensia Morrison (right), relays the hurricane damage experienced in Bonnet District, Guys Hill, in St. Catherine, to Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (centre) and State Minister, Hon. Franklin Witter (second right) during a farm tour in the community on Thursday (November 20). Poultry farmers, Nadisha Simmonds-Small (left) and her husband, Conway Small (second left), have sustained approximately $750,000 in loss to their poultry operation. The tour forms part of the Ministry’s hurricane recovery plan and culminated with a Farmers Meeting at the Guys Hill Town Hall, where farmers received irish potato seeds, fertilisers and vegetable seeds.

5 months ago Agriculture

Poultry Farmer Grateful That Ministry Will Help to Rebuild Sector

Poultry farmer, Nadisha Simmonds-Small, has expressed gratitude for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining’s plan to rebuild the poultry sector, which sustained extensive damage during the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, toured several farms in Bonnet District in Guys Hill, St. Catherine, on Thursday (November 20), where he saw the extent of the damage from...

A photo of a coop with chickens belonging to poultry farmer Nadisha Simmonds-Small, who lost some of her birds during the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, viewed hurricane damaged farms on Thursday (November 20) during a field tour in Bonnet District, Guys Hill in St. Catherine, as part of the Ministry’s Hurricane Melissa recovery plan.

5 months ago Agriculture

Agriculture Ministry to Rebuild Poultry Sector After 1.1M Bird Loss

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has announced a plan for the poultry sector, which was adversely affected during the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green disclosed that the ministry’s preliminary assessment showed that over 1.1 million birds have been lost — 458,000 layers and more than 700,000 broiler chickens. In comparison, Mr....

Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Trelawny Parish Agricultural Manager, Courtney Taylor, addresses farmers during Wednesday’s (November 19) RADA Connect/GraceKennedy (GK) General Insurance handover ceremony, held in Litchfield, Trelawny. Approximately 32 farmers received insurance payouts under the GraceKennedy (GK) Weather Protection Programme to support their recovery following Hurricane Melissa.

5 months ago AgricultureHurricane Relief & Recovery

32 Farmers In Litchfield, Trelawny, Receive Insurance Payouts To Support Hurricane Recovery

Approximately 32 farmers in Litchfield, Trelawny, have received insurance payouts under the GraceKennedy (GK) Weather Protection Programme to support their recovery following Hurricane Melissa. The payments were distributed on Wednesday (November 19) during a joint visit to the community by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Connect team, together with representatives of the GK Insurance Group. GK General Insurance Client...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (second right); State Minister, Hon. Franklin Witter (second left) and St. Catherine North Eastern Member of Parliament, Hon. Kerensia Morrison (left), listen intently as poultry farmer, Maureen Simmonds, relays the extensive damage to her business from Hurricane Melissa. The officials visited Bonnet District, Guys Hill in St. Catherine on Thursday (November 20), to tour several farms in the community that were damaged during the storm, as part of the Ministry’s hurricane recovery plan. The tour culminated with a farmers’ meeting at the Guys Hill Town Hall, where farmers received irish potato seeds, fertilisers and vegetable seeds.

5 months ago AgricultureHurricane Relief & Recovery

Ministry Of Agriculture Targets Less Affected Parishes In Short-term Recovery Plan

As the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining gets ready to begin the post Hurricane Melissa recovery, Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, says that a part of the short-term strategy is to focus on parishes that were not extensively affected by the category-five storm. Speaking at a farmers’ meeting in Guys Hill, St. Catherine, on November 20, he said that...