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MONTEGO BAY — Chairman of the COMPLANT International Group, Li Zhimin, says his firm plans an extensive overhaul of the three sugar estates it acquired from the Government last July, to create a modern large scale sugar enterprise which is the leading in the region. “Rehabilitating the three sugar estates, as soon as possible, is a shared aspiration among the...

KINGSTON — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), through European Union (EU) funding of US$8 million, has been supporting efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to significantly increase production of local foods. Speaking with JIS News, FAO representative in Jamaica, Dr. Jerome Thomas, explained that, through a two-year food facility project, the organisation has been assisting the agricultural...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is putting resources and infrastructure in place for the production of rice and pepper mash, as it looks to promote the consumption of local foods and further reduce the country’s import bill. Speaking at a JIS Think Tank held on April 12 at the agency’s Half-Way-Tree Road offices, Permanent Secretary in the...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Dr. Christopher Tufton, says the Government will gradually dismantle commodity boards, and replace them with a structure with minimal state involvement, maximum private sector entrepreneurship and Jamaican brand protection. "Our position is that commodity boards today, whether it is the banana board, the coffee board, the cocoa board or the spices board,...

LONDON — High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), His Excellency Anthony Johnson has urged Jamaicans in the UK to take control of the importation of ethnic foods into the country. Addressing a community meeting in the midlands town of Walsall on the weekend, Mr. Johnson said that while Jamaicans continue to consume traditional foods in large quantities, other communities...

OCHO RIOS — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. the Hon Christopher Tufton, has welcomed the support for the Ministry's 'Eat Jamaican' road shows, across the Island. “The public has been responding well to this campaign. We launched it in the Coronation (Market) and it went well, and last week we were in Mandeville and it was very good,” Dr....

KINGSTON — President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, has praised farmers for their commitment to Jamaica's food security, in spite of the challenges they face. "The farmers must be commended for consistently rising to the challenge of production, despite the increasing cost of input material, the vagaries of weather, praedial larceny and marketing issues, among other things,"...

OCHO RIOS — Facilities at the Salem fishing beach in St. Ann have been upgraded,  with the fisher folk anticipating "brighter days" in their business. The $4.6 million project, which resulted in the construction of a fish vending and handling facility, was officially opened by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries,  Hon. Dr.  Christopher Tufton, on April 6. “I feel...

The banana industry has received support from the European Union in an effort to strengthen and improve the competitiveness of Jamaica’s banana export market. Minister with responsibility for Information Daryl Vaz told  today’s (April 6) post cabinet press briefing that  a grant of J$30 million was contributed to the Hurricane Dean Material Programme.  He said an additional J$9 million was...

KINGSTON — Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, says that contrary to media reports, processed ackee is safe for consumption and there has been no case of poisoning from the product. “These recent announcements that persons suffered food poisoning as a result of consuming ackees (and) implying that they may well have been ackees that were processed,...

PORT ANTONIO — Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, says the Ministry is working closely with the banana industry, to develop value added products to diversify production and increase earnings. He said that the Ministry is assisting the industry to acquire facilities to aid the value added process. He also disclosed that an agreement has...

KINGSTON — The first of five batches of green bean Jamaican coffee, with an approximate sale value of US$425,000, will be shipped to China soon. The shipment, comprising 16,500 kilograms of Blue Mountain Coffee, should have left Jamaica Tuesday April 5, but has been delayed, and is now expected to arrive in China in early May, a Ministry of Agriculture...