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KINGSTON — The Government has completed privatisation of the island's sugar industry, on August 15 signing a divestment agreement with COMPLANT Group of Companies for the three remaining factories. Under the arrangement, which was signed at Jamaica House, COMPLANT will acquire Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine; Frome, Westmoreland; Monymusk, Clarendon and associated lands for US$9 million ($774 million). The Chinese company...

MONTEGO BAY — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, toured the Airport Point fish sanctuary in Montego Bay on Thursday August 9. Mr. Montague participated in assembling a number of  units, known as EcoReefs, which are ceramic based branching structures, designed to mimic a species of branching coral that has disappeared from Jamaican reefs due to storms and...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has set aside approximately $1billion for the continued development of the sugar industry. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday August 4 at the Ministry, Hope Road, Kingston, portfolio minister, Hon Robert Montague, said that the money is in addition to the $523 million already budgeted, and will be made available, up...

KINGSTON — Newly appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, says he has embarked on building a coalition of small and large players in the agricultural sector to ensure that farming gets the attention it needs to keep it buoyant. “Agriculture is in good hands, I have started a series of consultations with stakeholders, I have called in...

KINGSTON — The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), launched its own brand of compost on July 31, at the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show,  in May Pen,  Clarendon. Addressing the launch, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, said the new product is one of the innovations of the NSWMA, and forms part of the re-organisation of...

KINGSTON — The Government will be providing low-interest financing to farmers for the production of Irish potato and onions, aimed at saving the country some $3 billion in annual imports for the crops. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, who made the announcement at the opening of the three-day Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon yesterday...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) plans to engage at least three Government ministries and agencies in dialogue, to increase the use of locally produced foods in schools. Chairman of the Denbigh Planning Committee and First Vice President of the JAS, Senator Norman Grant, made the disclosure at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (July 26), while giving an...

KINGSTON — A number of dignitaries from the region are expected in the island for the 59th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural & Industrial Show, which will be held this weekend at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon. Deputy Premier and Minister for District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture in the Cayman Island, Hon. Juliana O'Connor-Connolly; President of the Cayman Island...

KINGSTON — First Vice President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and Chairman of the Denbigh Planning Committee, Senator Norman Grant, says the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show is one of the largest exhibition of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. "When you critically analyze the extent to which it has built up over the last nine years, it...

MANDEVILLE — The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) will be seeking to increase its revenues, with the help of a consultant to be paid by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Making the announcement at Wednesday’s (July 13) 116th Annual General Meeting of the society at the Denbigh Showground, Clarendon, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, said the initiative...

MANDEVILLE — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, has said that there is to be an urgent restructuring of the Coffee Industry Board, and new management strategies to ensure that farmers get the best price per box of the bean. “There are two critical strategies for the coffee industry, the first is diversification of the market, and the...

MANDEVILLE — Preliminary figures are showing a 33 per cent increase in domestic crop production for the April to June quarter. This is a continuation of the growth trend from the January to March quarter, where some 147,378 tonnes of food crops were produced, representing a 24.4 per cent increase over the corresponding period for 2010. The figure, which was...