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The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) has moved to facilitate greater dialogue among the sector’s stakeholders, by establishing its Chamber. This is expected to facilitate the hosting of regular fora among sector interests, thereby accommodating an exchange of ideas and views on the industry’s development. The Chamber is a forum which will seek to highlight challenges in the sector and provide...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is intensifying its fight against lethal yellowing disease, as it seeks to protect and preserve the coconut industry, which earned $1 billion last year. The Ministry is working with Mexico and Brazil to find solutions, but in the meantime, has rolled out the “Black” approach, which is aimed at replacing infected trees, with healthy...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke, has announced that the Ministry will collaborate with the Scientific Research Council (SRC) to implement a Rural Youth Employment Project. The project, to be undertaken initially as a pilot, will get underway within a month. Speaking at the handing over of a refurbished poultry abattoir at the Garvey Maceo High School in...

The Ministry of Agricultural and Fisheries has provided $1 million in support for the staging of the 2012 Hague Agricultural and Food Show in Trelawny. State Minister, Hon. Ian Hayles, presented the cheque to the organisers at the launch of the event at the Breezes Hotel and Spa near Falmouth on Jan. 31, where several of the main sponsors also...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, said that training programmes have been put in place to raise awareness about health and safety issues among workers participating in the Overseas Employment Programme. The move comes in the wake of the deaths of two farm workers from a job-related accident in Ontario, Canada in September 2010. The Labour Minister,...

Minister of State for Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, is encouraging more young people to get involved in agriculture, stating that this is critical for the sustainability of the sector. “Agriculture is important to the development of any nation, therefore it is important that you get involved and get involved now,” he told students of the Maggotty High School...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke, says ensuring that exporters meet the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act will be one of his immediate priorities. Speaking with JIS News, Mr. Clarke said with United States (US) authorities expected to carry out inspections next month; focus will be placed on all areas dealing with the export of agricultural...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Reginald Budhan, says the food safety certification course being offered by the University of the West Indies (UWI) is vital to the country meeting international requirements, particularly United States (US) regulations. "The US constitutes one of our most important export markets. This training programme is particularly critical to us at...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, says the future for the cocoa industry remains bright, based on initiatives being undertaken by the Government and the high level of interest from overseas processors in the local brand. “We are the finest flavour in the world and we have been having many enquiries from around the world from...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, says that the six-month project undertaken by the Ministry, to eradicate the American Foulbrood Disease (AFB), has put bee-keepers in a position to effectively manage the disease and move the industry forward. He was speaking yesterday (Dec. 20) at the Bodles Agricultural Research Station in St. Catherine, where some...

KINGSTON — Residents of Waterford, Portmore, St. Catherine, should begin to see a reduction of their mosquito nuisance over the next few weeks, as a biological control programme progresses. As part of the experimental phase of this programme, some three to four thousand  Gambusia specie of the mosquito eating fish, known locally as the ‘Tiki Tiki’, were deployed in a...

KINGSTON — The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is looking to partner with private interests to increase the number of farmers’ markets being held across the island. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries-instituted markets, held since January, were postponed during the months of July and August to allow parishes to be totally involved in preparations for the annual Denbigh Agricultural...