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The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is seeking to reduce the food importation bill from US$1 billion to US$700 million in the short to medium term. “We have targeted some 8,000 acres of government lands that we intend to put into the hands of farmers and we are committed to putting in the basic infrastructure to help to get those...

In light of the prevailing drought affecting most parishes, farmers islandwide are being urged to utilize the National Irrigation Commission’s (NIC) water systems to irrigate their crops, instead of the National Water Commission’s (NWC) resources,  which are dedicated for domestic and personal use.     This call comes from Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, who says...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke, has again called on Jamaicans to increase production, as this is the only way to move the country forward. “I am confident that something is going to happen … now is the opportunity for us to rise and build,” he said. The Minister emphasized that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not...

An Agricultural Committee for St. Elizabeth was launched on March 21 by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke. This Committee, comprising the 15 councillors in the parish, signals an alignment with the goals of the agricultural plan in the Vision 2030 national development plan, which has national food security and long term development as some of its goals....

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is training agriculture extension officers to combat the dreaded beet armyworm, which is affecting onions and escallion cultivation in South St. Elizabeth. The training comes against the recent outbreak of the disease, resulting in the destruction of some 45 hectares of crops valued at approximately $31 million. Some 20 Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA)...

Plans are far advanced for the Easter Monday, April 1, staging of the Montpelier Agricultural and Industrial Show in St. James. Some $3.25 million has been allocated for the event, which is being put on by the St. James Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS). Speaking at the official launch at the Sunset Hotel in Montego Bay on...

Some 20 Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Extension Officers and Researchers at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are to take part in a training workshop, geared at combating the Beet Armyworm. The workshop will be held from March 18 to 22, and March 25 to 26 at the Junction Guest House, in St. Elizabeth. The last outbreak of the...

Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reveal that for the period January to November 2012, earnings from total exports were valued at US$1,524.7 million, an increase of US$34.8 million or 2.3 per cent, compared to the similar period in 2011. Additionally, during the same period in 2012, earnings from non-traditional domestic exports were valued at US$769.5 million, an...

Some 500 farmers in and around the Accompong area of St. Elizabeth are to benefit from a Green House project, set up through a US$50,000 grant by the Global Environmental Fund (GEF). The project has two components, including the establishment of a nursery for lumber and fruit trees, with the planting of at least 10,000 trees over 18 months; and...

MONTEGO BAY - The country's agro-exporters are being encouraged to ensure that their packaging facilities are operating to international standards. Plant and Quarantine Manager at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dalton Hastings, said that the trading partners are now more rigorous in ensuring the safety of foods entering their markets, and are demanding that exporting countries adhere to the...

Local businesses now have increased knowledge, which will better enable them to deal with certain barriers to trade, particularly non-tariff measures (NTMs), following a survey conducted by the International Trade Centre (ITC). Undertaken in partnership with the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, between August 2011 and February 2012, the survey identified the main obstacles the Jamaican business sector faces...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will undertake a social and economic survey of the Pedro Cays to determine the living conditions of the area. The $2.54 million survey, which is being funded through the Fisheries Management Development Fund, will be done during the March/April conch season, when the population on the cays is at a maximum. Portfolio Minister, Hon....