Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Derrick Kellier, says the livestock research centre being built at Hounslow in St. Elizabeth will improve the quality and quantity of small livestock in the parish. In an interview with JIS News during a tour of farm belt areas of St. Elizabeth on Thursday (November 26), Minister Kellier said the centre is a welcome...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, is assuring consumers that there will be adequate supply of produce for the upcoming festive season. Addressing a JIS Think Tank recently, the JAS President said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries should be commended for the support given to the farmers during the drought period. “The Government implemented...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says measures being undertaken by the Government to position the agricultural sector to maximise the benefits of the economic reforms underway are bearing fruit. “We are now much more competitive as a country...we are importing about $5 billion less of foodstuffs than we were before; we are replacing imported product with...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, has hailed the ‘Eat Jamaican’ campaign as a game changer in the Jamaican economy. He said the 12-year-old campaign, which encourages Jamaicans to ‘Grow What We Eat…Eat What We Grow’, has saved the country over US$500 million in food imports since its launch in November 2003. He noted that with...

State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Luther Buchanan, says the Government will be intensifying its fight against praedial larceny, the incidence of which has dropped by 14 per cent since March. He warned that heavy fines will be meted out to those who continue to engage in the practice. Addressing farmers and stakeholders at the 16th...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier, has again called on persons to desist from setting fires to sugarcane fields. He noted that a total of 524 fires have adversely affected cane production in the 2014/15 crop year. “This has resulted in the loss of some 172,685 tonnes or 3177.34 hectares of cane,” said the Minister. “Think of the difference...

The Government has announced measures to assist sugarcane farmers, who have been severely affected by drought over the past two years. Among the measures is a relief on loan repayment for farmers, who accessed funds under the Cane Expansion Fund. “Given the impact of the droughts of both 2014 and 2015 on farmer productivity as well as earnings, the Government...