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Grace Smith examines callaloo reaped from her farm in Mafoota, St. James.
Grace Smith examines callaloo reaped from her farm in Mafoota, St. James.

Veteran Mafoota Farmer has no Regrets

Mafoota farmer, Grace Smith, has dedicated her life to agriculture. For almost four decades, she has been cultivating crops for the local market on her seven and a half-acre farm located in the quiet community in southern St. James. She...
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (fourth left), makes a point to Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Bernardo Guanche Hernandez (fifth left), at a demonstration of agricultural implements, manufactured in Cuba, at the Bodles Research Station, in Old Harbour, St. Catherine, on April 19. Others (from left) are: Director General in the Ministry, Don McGlashan; Chief Executive Officer at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Lenworth Fulton; Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Dermon Spence; and Principal Research Director at the Ministry, Dr. Lisa Myers-Morgan.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (fourth left), makes a point to Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Bernardo Guanche Hernandez (fifth left), at a demonstration of agricultural implements, manufactured in Cuba, at the Bodles Research Station, in Old Harbour, St. Catherine, on April 19. Others (from left) are: Director General in the Ministry, Don McGlashan; Chief Executive Officer at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Lenworth Fulton; Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Dermon Spence; and Principal Research Director at the Ministry, Dr. Lisa Myers-Morgan.

Government to Acquire Farming Equipment from Cuba
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left), listens to a point being made by Director General in the Ministry, Don McGlashan (right), during a tour of an onion farm in Colbeck St. Catherine, on April 12. Others touring include: Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (3rd left); Permanent Secretary, Donovan Stanberry (centre); and Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Lenworth Fulton (3rd right).
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left), listens to a point being made by Director General in the Ministry, Don McGlashan (right), during a tour of an onion farm in Colbeck St. Catherine, on April 12. Others touring include: Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (3rd left); Permanent Secretary, Donovan Stanberry (centre); and Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Lenworth Fulton (3rd right).

Fifty Percent Increase in Local Onion Production
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), addresses a press conference at the Ministry’s offices in New Kingston earlier this week. Listening is Permanent Secretary, Donovan Stanberry.
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), addresses a press conference at the Ministry’s offices in New Kingston earlier this week. Listening is Permanent Secretary, Donovan Stanberry.

Repairs Underway at Long Pond Sugar Factory
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), emphasizes a point to Minister without Portfolio, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (right), during the Ministry’s field day exercise for farmers in Colbeck, St. Catherine, on Tuesday, April 12. Also listening, from 2nd left, are: the Ministry’s Director General, Don McGlashan; and President of the Colbeck Water Users Association, Emile Spence.
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), emphasizes a point to Minister without Portfolio, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson (right), during the Ministry’s field day exercise for farmers in Colbeck, St. Catherine, on Tuesday, April 12. Also listening, from 2nd left, are: the Ministry’s Director General, Don McGlashan; and President of the Colbeck Water Users Association, Emile Spence.

Agriculture Expected to Rebound this Year

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AgricultureBudget 2016/2017

$292 Million Set Aside for Repair of Mid-Clarendon Irrigation System

The Government is expected to spend $292 million this fiscal year to undertake rehabilitation of the Mid-Clarendon Irrigation system to reduce water loss and operational costs. The funds have been set aside in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. To be implemented by the National Irrigation Commission, the works will involve replacement of several thousand...
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Agriculture

Agriculture a Key Part of Growth Agenda

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says strengthening the contribution of agriculture to economic growth is a major priority of the Government. Mr. Hutchinson was speaking at the official launch of Newport Fersan’s Manni-Plex liquid fertiliser at Adam’s Valley Farm in Manchester on Wednesday (April 13). He noted that Jamaican produce,...
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Agriculture

St. James Farmers Hailed

Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) St. James Parish Agricultural Manager, Sadie Dixon Bennett, is hailing the farmers in the parish for their commitment to safeguarding the nation’s food security. She told JIS News that the 8,650 registered farmers have been working hard to cultivate crops for both the local and export markets. “We have somewhere in the region of 1,250...
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Agriculture

National Summit Highlights Farmers’ Month Activities During April

The second National Agricultural Production and Food Security Summit is among the activities organized by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) to commemorate Farmers’ Month 2016, during April. The summit is slated to be held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on April 21 under the theme: ‘Grow What We Eat...Eat What We Grow through Climate-Smart Agriculture’. Details of...
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Agriculture

Peckham Residents Certified in Bamboo Cultivation and Product Manufacturing

Fifteen residents of Peckham in Clarendon are now certified in bamboo cultivation and product manufacturing, after completing training in these skills. The training was conducted by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), Social Development Commission (SDC), and Institute of Nursing, Technology and Household Management (INTHM), under the $15 million (US$130,000) Organisation of American States (OAS) grant-funded Peckham Bamboo Pre-processing Project....
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Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry (left), looks on as President of the United States (US)-based National Association of Christian Educators (NACE), Dr. Amos Jones (seated, second left), and President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Norman Grant (seated, third left), affix their signatures to certificates of alliance. This followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a US$29 million pilot project, which will see Jamaica’s agricultural produce being sold in the US. Also pictured (standing, from left) are: First Vice-President, JAS, Donald Berry; and Chief Executive Officer of the JAS, Christopher Emanuel. The ceremony was held at the JAS, in downtown Kingston.
Agriculture

PS says Sugar Industry will Rebound

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, is confident the sugar industry will rebound, despite the challenges being faced. He cited exploitation of the Caribbean market as one avenue for the revival of the once booming industry. “I think that the survival of Jamaica’s sugar industry now rests with satisfying the huge demand for...
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Agricultural Parish Manager, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), St. James, Sadie Dixon Bennett.
Agriculture

St. James RADA Office to Set Up Agro-Business Incubator

The St. James office of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is moving to set up an agro-business incubator at its headquarters in Catherine Hall. RADA St. James Parish Agricultural Manager, Sadie Dixon Bennett, told JIS News that work on the facility is scheduled to get underway shortly. She explained that the incubator will be fully equipped to facilitate agro-processing....
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