The Government is aiming to significantly boost local milk production from the current level of 13 million litres annually to 20 million litres by 2020, says Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda. In a speech delivered by Director General in the Ministry, Vivian Brown, at the Seprod Foundation Scholarship Awards Ceremony in Kingston on October 20,...

The Government has established a collaborative project from a US$17-million Adaptation Fund, to enable farmers and other groups working in tourism to lessen the impacts of climate change. Through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, the five-year programme, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will provide for capacity-building of key...

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries will be providing support for the establishment of a proper school garden at the Beersheba Primary School in New Market, St. Elizabeth. Minister without Portfolio, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, who made the disclosure, said the project will ensure that students are exposed to agriculture from an early stage. “We are going to be...

The Government is providing some $1.1 billion to assist farmers under its Irish Potato Expansion Programme, to meet a target of 1,200 hectares of production. Support to boost the production of Irish potato will be in the form of a $48.3-million grant and more than $700 million of input, including extension services, says Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, is commending the country’s pig farmers for the strides being made in the industry, which have seen the country gain self-sufficiency in the production of pork, while reducing imports of meat. He noted that the output of pork has grown by 22 per cent, moving from 6.3 million kilograms (kg)...

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries will spend $150 million over the next three years to eradicate the frosty pod rot disease that is affecting the local cocoa industry. Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, says the disease, which was first detected in Clarendon, could result in crop losses of between 70 and 80...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Reginald Budhan, says innovative ways need to be found to secure financing and attract investors in agriculture. He said the perception of serious lending risk and high cost of service delivery, among other limitations, are well-known barriers to the financing of smallholders (small family farms). “These barriers make it...