Latest

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller (centre), participates in the ribbon cutting exercise at the official commissioning of the Yallahs Irrigation System and launch of the Yallahs Agro Park in St. Thomas, on January 23. Also participating are (from left); Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke; President, Jamaica Agricultural Society, Senator Norman Grant; Chairman, National Irrigation Commission (NIC), Dr. Conrad Douglas; and Member of Parliament, Western St. Thomas, James Robertson.

PM Opens $395 Million Irrigation Facility in Yallahs and Launches Agro Park

Farmers in Yallahs, St. Thomas, are benefitting from a $395 million irrigation facility, which was officially commissioned into service on January 23, by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller. The Prime Minister also officially launched the Yallahs Agro...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Hon. Roger Clarke (second left) and Chairman, All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association (AIJCFA), Allan Rickards (left), break ground for the construction of a new headquarters for the Association at Innswood, St. Catherine, on January 22. Looking on (from right) are: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company, Dr. Huaixiang Wu; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry and Executive Chairman of the Sugar Industry Authority, Ambassador Derrick Heaven.

AIJCFA Breaks Ground For New Headquarters

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke (centre), addresses the signing ceremony for an agreement between the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association and Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company to authorise the sale of sugar and molasses, and establish a pricing regime. The ceremony was held on January 15 at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices. Also participating are: Chairman of the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers’ Association, Allan Rickards (left) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pan-Caribbean, Dr. Huaixiang Wu.

Monymusk and Frome Sugar Factories to be Upgraded

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke (left), looks on as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pan-Caribbean, Dr. Huaixiang Wu, addresses the signing of an agreement between the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association and Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company to authorise the sale of sugar and molasses, and establish a pricing regime. The ceremony was held on January 15 at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices.

Pan-Caribbean to Sell Sugar and Molasses on Behalf of Cane Farmers

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke (left), greets Director of Research for the all-natural bio-stimulant agricultural formulation, Vitazyme, Dr. Paul Syltie (centre), during a stakeholders seminar at the Agriculture Ministry’s Research Station at Bodles, Old Harbour, St. Catherine on Tuesday (January 14). Mr. Clarke was guest speaker at the sensitization forum which was held under the theme: ‘Improving Crop production, Increasing Productivity’. Looking on is Vitazyme’s Director for Latin America and Caribbean Operations, Dr. Juan Carlos Diaz.

Agriculture Ministry Looking at Bio-Stimulant to Boost Productivity

12 years ago Agriculture

Govt Urged to Speed up Development of Bamboo Industry

The Government is being urged to accelerate the development of a local bamboo industry to tap into the lucrative global market for the environmentally-friendly product, which is estimated to reach US$20 billion by 2015. Senator Norman Grant, who made the call in the Senate yesterday (January 17), said that this should be done through a mix of policy initiatives, farmer...

12 years ago Agriculture

House Committee Proposes Strengthening of Praedial Larceny Law

Persons found in possession of agricultural produce, for which they have no receipt or invoice, may face hefty fines if recommendations put forward by the Economy and Production Committee of Parliament for the strengthening the praedial larceny law are adopted. At a meeting at Gordon House on January 14, committee member, Daryl Vaz, noted that currently, the end user is...

12 years ago Agriculture

Government to Spend $3 Billion on Social Infrastructure Projects

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, says the Government is slated to spend an estimated $3 billion on major social infrastructure projects over the next three financial years. Included in these, is the resettlement of sugar industry workers currently residing in barracks on the estates to which they are attached. Speaking at the official opening ceremony for the newly...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke (right), converses with Chairman, National Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) John Junor, during a validation workshop on the results of the ‘2013 Socio-economic Survey and Carrying Capacity Study of the Northeast and Middle Cays, Pedro Banks’ held on Thursday, January 9, at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

12 years ago Agriculture

Over $28M Allocated to Improve Sanitation and Management of Pedro Cays

Government has allocated more than $28 million to address waste management, and to beef up fisheries monitoring and enforcement on the Northeast and Middle Cays of the Pedro Banks. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke, who made the disclosure on Thursday, January 9, informed that the financing was provided through the Fisheries Management and Development Fund, as well...

12 years ago Agriculture

More Cane Roads to be Repaired

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, says the Government, through the Ministry, hopes to allocate another $600 million under the Cane Roads Rehabilitation Project, to repair more roads serving cane producing and dependent communities. This provision would serve to further boost rehabilitation work, currently being carried out at a cost of $404 million, on more than 44 kilometres of...

12 years ago Agriculture

Sugar Industry Still King In Agricultural Sector

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, is underscoring the importance of the sugar industry to Jamaica’s economy, particularly in the context of the administration’s efforts to restructure the country’s economy. Speaking at the official opening of the Toll Gate sports complex in Clarendon on Thursday (January 9), Mr. Clarke noted that the sector recorded an estimated US$109.7 million in...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke (right), is assisted by Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Noel Arscott (2nd right), to cut the ribbon to formally open the football field at the newly renovated Toll Gate community centre and sports complex in Clarendon on January 9. Renovation of the facility was financed at a cost of approximately $22 million with grant funding provided under the European Union’s (EU) Accompanying Measures for Sugar (AMS) Protocol. Sharing the occasion (from left) are: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry; Head of Infrastructure and Rural Development at the EU Mission in Jamaica, Thomas Opperer; and Chairman, Clarendon Parish Council, and May Pen’s Mayor, Councillor Scean Barnswell.

12 years ago Agriculture

Refurbished Community Centre and Sports Complex Handed Over at Toll Gate

Residents of Toll Gate and its environs in Clarendon now have access to a newly refurbished community centre and sports complex, which were rehabilitated at a cost of approximately $22 million. The projects, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Sugar Transformation Unit (STU) and executed by the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), involved construction of a new playfield, improvement...