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Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, says the government’s new tax package targeting imported food items will benefit the Jamaican farmer and the local agricultural sector. He made the comments against the background of Government’s decision to apply additional stamp duties on imported meats, fish, ham and bacon instead of taxing animal feeds, fresh fruits, vegetables, tubers, fish and...

Minister of State for Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, is encouraging farmers in St. James to stick with banana production, noting that the sector offers significant potential for job creation and earnings. He made the appeal on June 28, as he addressed the Annual General Meeting of the All Island Banana Growers Association’s (AIBGA) St. James Area Council held...

Some 40 small farmers in St. Thomas and St. Mary, who previously cultivated banana, are to benefit from support under the Economic Diversification Programme for Banana Producing Parishes. The European Union (EU) is providing funding for the programme, through its Banana Support Programme, which seeks to provide alternative income-generating opportunities for banana farmers, who have been displaced due to hurricane...

The training programme of the 4-H Movement in Hanover is to be strengthened, as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, has committed $250,000 from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), to help the organisation. Mr. Hayles gave the commitment while addressing the Annual General Meeting  of the Hanover 4-H Clubs, held at the...

The training programme of the 4-H Movement in  Hanover is to be strengthened, as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, has committed $250,000 from the  Constituency Development Fund (CDF), to help the organisation. Mr. Hayles  gave the commitment while addressing the Annual General Meeting  of the Hanover 4-H Clubs, held at the...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, says the Hope Estate in St. Andrew, site of the Hope Botanical Gardens and Zoo, in St. Andrew, is currently being operated by the Nature Preservation Foundation (NPF) Limited, under 49-year lease agreement from the Government. Responding to questions posed by Opposition Spokesperson on Agriculture, J.C. Hutchinson, during Wednesday’s (June 20) sitting of...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, says the renewed effort by the Government to reduce praedial larceny is motivating farmers to stay in agriculture. Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the JAS, St. James parish organisation, held at the St. John’s Methodist Church, in Montego Bay, on June 20, Mr. Harris said that farmers across the...

Nine Jamaican companies are among 2,250 exhibiting entities representing 60 countries at the 58th Summer Fancy Food Show, which opened on Sunday, June 17, at the Washington Convention Centre in downtown Washington, D.C.  The companies are Associated Manufacturers Ltd., Baking Enterprise Ltd., Continental Bakery Company, Honey Kist, Apiaries Ltd., Jamaica Teas, Jamaica Yard Style, JP Tropical Foods Ltd., Salada Foods...

Jamaican foods and beverages are renowned globally for their high quality and exotic flavours, endearing the discerning taste buds and palates of many persons who continue to enjoy them. Cognisant of this and the competitive advantage which Jamaica’s unique foods present in the global marketplace, private and public sector stakeholders and interests have, both individually and collectively, been engaging  in...

Three farming groups, which benefited under the Organization of American States (OAS)-funded Rural Youth Capacity Building and Business Development Project (YOUCAB), were on June 14, 2012 presented with equipment as a contribution to the development of their business ventures. The presentation, made at the closing ceremony for the project at the Scientific Research Council’s (SRC) Hope Gardens offices, comprised stainless...

Members of the St. James Parish Council have placed tourism and agriculture  at the top of their agenda in meetings, and at Committee deliberations. This was stated by Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, held at the Montego Bay office of the agency, on June 13. The Mayor explained that  those two areas  provide...

State Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, has welcomed the implementation of two projects by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), which seek to enhance the production of roots, tubers, vegetables and herbs in the region. “These projects are a step in the right direction as they are aligned with the Ministry’s strategic growth areas; onions,...