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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....

The joy of being able to provide employment for fellow parishioners, is one of the main reasons why St. Elizabeth pepper farmer, Damion Dickens, is happy to have secured a supply contract with the island’s top food manufacturer, GraceKennedy. Mr. Dickens, along with several other farmers across the island, is providing hot pepper for the company’s pepper mash facility in...

Young persons are again being urged to get involved in agriculture, so they can significantly contribute to the country’s food security and continued economic growth. This call came from Government Senator, Floyd Morris, as he addressed the Kingston 4-H Club’s annual Parish Achievement Day, held recently at the Excelsior High School’s Mountain View Avenue location. He said that agriculture is...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is reporting earnings of some $247 million from 207 acres of ginger and $44 million from 123 acres of turmeric, totalling $291 million during the last year. The Turmeric and Ginger project, which was launched by the Ministry in February 2012, has recorded the impressive results, despite the effects of drought and Hurricane Sandy...

Government is seeking to increase business between the tourism industry and the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, in a bid to boost the economy. Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, says the linkages will boost local production and help to reduce the country’s import bill. Dr. McNeill was speaking at a stakeholders’ consultation at the Terra Nova Hotel...

Meat processors islandwide have been urged to modernize their facilities, in order to boost the output of by-products which can be derived from animals reared for consumption. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, contends that this move will significantly reduce foreign exchange expenditure on by-product imports, which can be produced locally, while generating employment. Speaking at the Jamaica Social...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, is calling for agricultural extension officers to be more fully integrated in the farming communities. “One way that we could see increased production and greater efficiencies in the agricultural industry is by placing agricultural extension officers to live and work in local farming communities,” he stated. Senator Grant was making...