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The programme that will guide the development of eight agro parks across the island is slated to be presented to Cabinet shortly. The programme is being developed by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), and the agency’s Director General, Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, said that significant progress has been made, and a submission will be made to Cabinet “in the coming...

Local producers and manufacturers of innovative and indigenous products and services will be showcasing their merchandise at Signature Sorrel - the ‘signature boutique’ pre-Christmas shopping event. The grand affair, which is being staged by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), under the distinguished patronage of  Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, will be held on November 24 and...

Twenty-nine residents of the Tawes Meadows community in St. Catherine have been equipped with the requisite skills to become self-reliant in agricultural production. They were trained by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) in chicken rearing, animal husbandry, bee keeping and cash crop farming over a four-week period as part of the agricultural sub-component of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s...

State Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, is appealing to the banking sector to offer more low interest loans to farmers as a means of boosting agricultural productivity. “At the end of every financial year, the banks will tell you that ‘we made $10 billion in profit, we made $12 billion in profit’. I am appealing to the...

A $147.4 million contract has been awarded to Pavements and Structures Company Limited for the construction of houses and infrastructure works in Golden Grove, St. Thomas. The project is part of the barracks relocation programme, which is being carried out in the four sugar producing parishes of Westmoreland, Trelawny, St. Thomas, and Clarendon. “Eight new communities will be established under...

The Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technology in Agriculture (CEATA) is breathing new life into the agricultural sector of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. Funded by the Spanish Government, and operating out of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, CEATA is a regional initiative, aimed at boosting competiveness and productivity in agriculture.   It operates under the...

A $60 million contract has been signed and ground broken for infrastructure works at Steel Field Sugar Estate Barracks relocation sites in Spicy Hill, Trelawny. This is to facilitate the resettlement of some 97 persons to 39 housing solutions in ultra-modern communities, under the Sugar Area Development Programme, supported by the European Union (EU). The contract was signed on November...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has allotted over $60 million towards the funding of several programmes designed to create employment for individuals within the agricultural sector. The programmes, which target approximately 1,000 persons, form part of the Ministry’s contribution to the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP). Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Principal Director, Field Services and Operations,...

The much-loved sorrel drink has long been a favourite of Jamaicans during the Christmas period. As appetites grow for the taste of this delicious indigenous Jamaican product, so has the need for increased production of the sorrel plant, the sepals of which are used to make the drink. The Government has been working to improve efficiency in harvesting the crop,...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, said that payouts from the Catastrophe Fund for the banana industry, amounting to some $7 million, are scheduled to be made this week. Speaking on November 13 at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the provision of a $100 million loan facility for the resuscitation of the banana industry, at...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, is confident that the Ministry’s implementation of a three-pronged programme of assistance, valued at over $200 million, will assist the banana industry to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy last month. Speaking at the signing of a $100 million Banana Resuscitation Loan Programme Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), at the Ministry’s Hope...

Come tomorrow (Nov.14), the People’s Cooperative (PC) Bank is slated to begin processing loan applications for the disbursement of $100 million to banana farmers ,who suffered heavy losses during the passage of Hurricane Sandy three weeks ago. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, said that the exercise will commence at the Trinity boxing plant in St Mary, one of...