The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries will be setting up school gardens at six institutions in eastern St. Thomas. Minister without portfolio, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says that produce from the gardens will go towards breakfast programmes at the schools. The gardens, he said, will be overseen by a broad-based committee comprising the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, past student associations,...

Farm supply stores are being urged to partner with the Government to provide technical assistance to farmers in a bid to boost the country’s agricultural outputs. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, who made the call, said the “Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) alone cannot do the job”. “With 220,000 farmers (and) 120...

The Government is looking to amend the Agricultural Produce Act to increase fines for offences from a maximum of $250,000 to $3 million or up to five years imprisonment. Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, said the move is part of strategies to combat praedial larceny. He said the amendments will include a redefinition of praedial...

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, is encouraging bee farmers to increase value added production in order to maximise earnings. He noted that while beekeeping is a billion-dollar industry, a significant portion of this money is from the sale of primary products. “If the industry is to reach its true potential,...

Debate on a Bill seeking to modernise the agricultural sector to meet the demands of increased food security and agricultural productivity began in the House of Representatives on April 12. Piloting the Bill – The Agricultural Loan Societies and Approved Organisations Act – Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, said the modernisation process involves streamlining certain...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government’s involvement in the sugar industry is to ensure effective management in the short term. According to Mr. Holness, the intervention at the Clarendon-based Monymusk Sugar Factory has informed him that once effective management of the industry’s culture, money and technology is in place, sugar can survive. The Prime Minister, who...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, is urging sugar producers to seek new markets within CARICOM as a response to changes in the United Kingdom (UK), due to Britain’s exit from the European Union (BREXIT). The upcoming removal of subsidies to UK farmers, as well as the European Union facilitating the expansion of beet sugar production,...