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Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Luther Buchanan, addresses the opening ceremony for the Knockalva Agricultural School's 75th Anniversary Expo, held at the school's location in Hanover yesterday (June 10).

Ministry Upgrading Dairy Programmes at Agricultural Schools

The Ministry of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security is in the process of upgrading the dairy programmes at agricultural education institutions across the country. A total of $30.5 million has been allocated for the initiative, which is being undertaken through...

Agriculture Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier (left), receives a warm welcome to the compound of the Donald Sangster International Airport from Chief Executive Officer of MBJ Airports Limited, Anthony Alicastro, as he arrives for a ceremony to mark the closing of an Information Fair at the end of Plant Quarantine Week at the Agricultural Export Complex at the Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St. James, on June 5.

Work of Plant Quarantine and Produce Inspection Branch Hailed

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant (left), in discussion with President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jamaica Broilers Group, Christopher Levy (right), during the launch of the 63rd staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in White Marl, St. Catherine, on June 4. At centre is President, Small Business Association of Jamaica, Hugh Johnson. The show, which is slated for July 31- August 2, will be held at the Denbigh Showground, May Pen, Clarendon, and is being staged by the JAS, in association with the Ministry of Agriculture.

New Offsite Fumigation Facility Available To Exporters

Agriculture, Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier (right), emphasizes a point during the Ministry’s Quarantine Division’s exporters’ forum, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on Tuesday (June 2). The forum formed part of week-long activities marking Plant Quarantine Week 2015, from May 30 to June 5, under the theme: ‘Plant Quarantine: Facilitating Trade...Securing Jamaica’s Agriculture’. Listening keenly are: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry (left), and Regional Administrative Specialist, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Maydene Campbell.

Submission to be Made to the USDA for Mango Export

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lloyd B. Smith, addresses the opening ceremony for the 35th annual conference of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, held on May 31, at the Hyatt Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James.

Caribbean Insurers Urged to Develop Products for Agriculture, Tourism

11 years ago Agriculture

Good Prospects for Fresh Produce Exports

Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, says there are good prospects for an increase in fresh produce exports coming out of talks with buyers in major markets in the United States and Britain. “We have made significant progress in the British market, through our collaboration with the London Fresh Produce Consortium,” he said, adding that the...

One of the greenhouses on the site of the Greenhouse Cluster and Water Harvesting Project, in Rose Hill, Manchester. Under the project, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), are collaborating to impart greenhouse technologies to farmers in Manchester, St. Elizabeth and St. Ann, through a $192 million partnership.

11 years ago Agriculture

Farmers to Benefit from Major Greenhouse Project

Farmers in a number of bauxite mining communities should benefit from greenhouse technologies, through a $192 million project, a collaboration between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI). The project involves conversion of mined-out lands to water reservoirs to be used for irrigation, where greenhouses are constructed for agricultural production, benefitting some 160 farmers who...

State Minister for Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Luther Buchanan (centre), looks on as Executive Chairman of Lasco Affiliated Companies, Lascelles Chin (right), hands the keys of a new Toyota pickup to Head of the Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kevin Francis, during a ceremony at the Hope Gardens offices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in Kingston today (May 26). Valued at over $4 million, the vehicle will be used to boost the operations of the Unit.

11 years ago Agriculture

Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit Recovers 130 Stolen Animals

More than 130 stolen animals were recovered during a major operation conducted by the Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit in Clarendon on May 25. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Assan Thompson, is reporting that over 60 heads of cattle, and 70 goats were recovered by the police. “I was forced to send the mobile reserve overnight (to maintain custody of the...

United States Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Luis Moreno (centre), pose with members from the first cohort of Peace Corps volunteers to Jamaica in 1962, during the swearing in ceremony for 36 new volunteers to the island, held on May 22, at the Ambassador’s residence in Kingston.

11 years ago Agriculture

Farmers to be Trained in Environmentally-Friendly Practices

President, Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, says educational programmes will be implemented for farmers, particularly in the coffee growing areas of the island, to discourage them from using the slash and burn method for land preparation. He said this, among other measures, form part of the Government’s strategy to encourage farmers to apply safer and more environmentally-friendly practices...

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Derrick Kellier (centre), and State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Luther Buchanan (2nd left), listen as Senior Director of the Agricultural Division at Appleton Estate, Ian Maxwell (right), provides details on improvements made in factory operations. Occasion was a tour of the property in St. Elizabeth on May 21.

11 years ago Agriculture

Minister Kellier Hails Improvements at Appleton Estate

Agriculture Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier, is hailing the significant investments being undertaken by the management of Appleton Estate in the retooling of factory operations and innovations in the field to boost sugar cane yield. Minister Kellier was speaking to JIS News after a tour of the St. Elizabeth-based plant on Wednesday (May 21), to get a first-hand look at new...

Commercial Manager at the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) Limited, Lorraine Geddes McDonald.

11 years ago Agriculture

NIC Assisting Drought-Affected Farming Communities

Several farming communities across the island are set to benefit from intervention strategies being implemented by the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) Limited to mitigate the effects of the dry season. These include rehabilitating storage tanks and wells to improve access of farmers to irrigation water, and encouraging best practices in land and water management. “In New Forest, Manchester for example,...

11 years ago Agriculture

Beekeeping Industry Could Earn $1 Billion in 2015

The Ministry of Agriculture is projecting that Jamaica’s beekeeping industry will generate an estimated $1 billion in earnings from honey production in 2015. This would be more than double the $450.5 million earned from the nearly 188,000 gallons of honey produced in 2014. The projection was given by Minister of State in the Ministry, Hon. Luther Buchanan, at the graduation...