Some 3,000 farmers in West Central St. Catherine are to benefit from a ginger and pineapple programme being spearheaded by Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton in collaboration with Newport Fersan. At the recent launch of the project in the community of Macka Tree, the farmers were presented with tools and fertilisers. They will also receive training from...

Jamaica’s food import bill continues its downward trend, with data indicating that there was a 0.7 per cent reduction or US$2.4 million for the period January to May 2016. This was noted by Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, in a message read by Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Stephen Wedderburn, at the 13th anniversary...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, says the system used to allocate cane lands to farmers at Monymusk sugar factory, in Clarendon, will likely be used across the island. According to the Minister, the farmers are allocated seven-acre plots where all the management is under their responsibility, and that system might be used as a model...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says the agricultural sector is expected to grow by 30 per cent for the final quarter of this year, ending December 31. Speaking recently at an Irish Potato Stakeholders’ Seminar in New Market, St. Elizabeth, Mr. Hutchinson said there has been significant growth in production...

Goat and sheep farmers are being urged to take steps to increase the production of meat. This is in order to satisfy the high demand of distributors, who are being encouraged to support local production instead of importing, said Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Reginald Budhan. He said data provided by the Health...

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Reginald Budhan, has underscored the need for large-scale investments in Jamaica’s small-ruminants industry. This, he said, is in order to facilitate the expansion of the subsector by increasing the size of goat and sheep herds and diversifying outputs to include by-products such as cheese and milk. “The production...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, says the annual Minard Livestock Show and Beef Festival in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, is a clear demonstration that agriculture is alive and well in Jamaica. Addressing the 17th staging of the event on November 10, the Minister noted that agriculture sometimes finds itself on the ‘back burner’ of “our...