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Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda. (FILE)

Coconut Imports Cess for Industry Development – Minister Samuda

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Karl Samuda, says the revenue generated from the cess imposed on imported coconut products will be used to develop the sector. According to the website of the Coconut Industry Board (CIB), which falls...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left) signs a contract for the lease of 247 hectares of lands in St. Catherine to Red Stripe for the mass production of cassava to be used in the company’s beverages. The signing took place Friday (May 5) at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices. Other signatories are Managing Director of Red Stripe, Ricardo Nuncio (left) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SCJ Holdings Limited (SCJH), Wentworth Charles. Looking on (from left) are Chief Executive Officer of SCJH, John Gayle; Project Manager for Local Raw Material Business Development, Red Stripe, Dr. Cavell Francis-Rhiney; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Donovan Stanberry; Legal Officer, SCJH, Debbie-Ann Scott; and Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Peter Thompson

Gov’t Leases Land to Red Stripe for Cassava Cultivation

Superintendent of the Public Gardens Division (PGD) in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Demoy Nash (right), speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on May 3 about the Earth Day Expo scheduled for May 5 at the Castleton Botanical Gardens, in St. Mary. At left is Botanist and Education Officer in the Division, Judeen Meikle.

Earth Day Expo at Castleton Gardens on May 5

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (left), is shown the damage done to his scallion farm by the beet armyworm, by Ralden Bellanfante, when the Minister stopped at his farm in the Duff House/New Forest Agro Park in Manchester, on May 1.

Ministry to Assist Farmers Affected by Beet Armyworm

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (right), speaks with farmers attached to the Thompson Town Achievers Benevolent Society in Clarendon, at the Thompson Town Community Centre in the parish on April 28.

Gov’t to Roll Out Strawberry Production Programme

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, delivers address at the Jamaica 4-H Clubs National Achievement Expo, held on April 28 at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon. The event was held under the theme ‘Agri-preneurship: the Gateway to Sustainable Development’.

9 years ago AgricultureCommerce

Young People Should Lead Campaign for Healthy Diets – Hutchinson

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says young people should lead a campaign for healthy diets. The Minister said with Jamaica recording 12,773 deaths in 2014 due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the economy to lose up to US$17.2 billion in output over the next 15 years, there is an urgent...

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Karl Samuda.

9 years ago AgricultureCommerce

New Fisheries Bill to be Tabled in Parliament

A new Fisheries Bill, aimed at further safeguarding the local sector, is to be tabled in Parliament shortly. The Bill, which will replace the Fisheries Act of 1976, will establish the legal and regulatory framework that creates the enabling environment for the sector’s sustainable growth. This includes ramping up measures to tackle poaching and unregulated fishing in Jamaican waters, Industry,...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang (2nd right), in discussion with (from left) Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry; President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, Norman Grant, and Sales Representative, Paul Thompson, of Hi-Pro, during a tour of the Hi-Pro booth at the Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James, on April 17.

9 years ago AgricultureEconomic Growth & Infrastructure Development

Minister Highlights Role of Agriculture in Country’s Economic Development

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says agriculture continues to play a critical role in the country’s economic development. Dr. Chang, who was speaking at the annual Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James on April 17, added that, along with tourism, agriculture represents one of the best foundations for growth...

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, addresses an agricultural forum at the Duckenfield Primary School in St. Thomas on April 21.

9 years ago Agriculture

Agriculture Ministry to Establish Six School Gardens in Eastern St. Thomas

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,...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry (right), has a light moment with Managing Director, St. Jago Farm and Hardware Supplies Limited, O’Brien Johnson, at a ceremony for the rebranding of St. Jago Farm and Hardware Supplies Limited at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club, St. Catherine, on April 19.

9 years ago Agriculture

Supply Stores Urged to Partner with Gov’t in Assisting Farmers

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...

9 years ago Agriculture

Legislation Coming to Increase Fines for Farm Theft

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

9 years ago Agriculture

Bee Farmers Urged to Increase Value-Added Production

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,...