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KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, says the Ministry will be reviewing the number of crops which are currently cultivated commercially in Jamaica. This, in a bid to reduce the number from 64, to between 15 and then 20 and, in the process, streamline the crops in which Jamaica is deemed to have competitive and comparative...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will shortly launch an islandwide, $50 million banana resuscitation programme, Minister Robert Montague has announced. Mr. Montague says the programme, to be undertaken in collaboration with the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the People’s Cooperative (PC) Bank, is aimed at resuscitating some 300 acres of the fruit. Speaking at the eighth...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, says the Ministry is in the process of reorganizing the farmers markets, which have been used as outlets for excess agricultural production. Speaking at the eighth anniversary of the Jamaica Agricultural Society's (JAS) ‘Eat Jamaican’ campaign, at the Denbigh Show Ground, May Pen, Clarendon, last Friday (November 25), Mr. Montague,...

KINGSTON — President of the Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA), Vitus Evans, is lauding the measures by the Government to stabilize the economy, noting that they will serve to boost productivity and economic growth. "We welcome the reduction in interest rates, the stabilisation of the exchange rate and the firm grip on inflation," he stated at the organisation’s 45th Anniversary Annual...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Robert Montague, wants increased consumption of local produce to significantly reduce food importation. Speaking at the eighth anniversary of the Jamaica Agricultural Society’s (JAS) "Eat Jamaican" Day celebrations, at the Denbigh Show Grounds, May Pen, Clarendon, on Friday (November 25), Mr. Montague lamented that Jamaica’s food import bill averages US$806 million per...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) has launched its first major in-store project to give momentum to the promotion, distribution and consumption of domestic agricultural production. The pilot project was unveiled at one of the larger Corporate Area supermarkets and outlets for fresh fruits, vegetables and ground provisions, Michi Super Centre, Thursday (November 24), to increase the accessibility of...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Robert Montague, on November 22 signed six contracts valued at some $289 million to carry out works on two irrigation systems, which will enable a total of 687 farmers to increase their production. The irrigation systems are sited in Yallahs, St. Thomas, and New Forest/Duff House in Manchester. The contracts, for the supply and...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, is finalising a programme that could boost dairy production, through the increased use of fresh milk in the school feeding programme. Making the disclosure at a press conference on Wednesday (November 16), Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, said that the Ministry will...

KINGSTON — The operational capacities of three sugar estates, which the Government has divested to the China National Complete Plant Export Corporation (COMPLANT), have been significantly boosted by the acquisition of some US$15 million worth of machinery and vehicles. The equipment, which have been procured for Frome, Westmoreland; Monymusk, Clarendon; and Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine, include: tractors, trailer heads, and...

KINGSTON — With the start of the planting season for competitive crops, such as Irish potatoes and onions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is rolling out a $500 million line of credit, through the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), to support the farmers. The funds are being made accessible through the Peoples’ Cooperative (PC) banks, at an interest rate...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has unveiled a programme under which farmers will get critical inputs enabling them take full advantage of the crop planting season, as the Government seeks to empower them to engage in best practices to strengthen food security. Under the Growing Resources Obtaining Wealth (GROW) Project, the Ministry is providing for registered farming...

KINGSTON — Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, says the Fisheries Division will become an executive agency within a year, thereby providing for improved management of the sector. "We are committed to the restructuring of the Fisheries Division and we are on course to convert it into an executive agency, fully resourced with equipment to...