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MONTEGO BAY — Preliminary figures show, more than 20 per cent increase in domestic crop production for the first quarter of 2011, over the similar period last year. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, who made the announcement at the opening of the Montpelier Agricultural and Industrial Show yesterday April 25 in St. James, said that the...

MANDEVILLE — As part of ongoing efforts to cushion the effects of the temporary cessation in bauxite mining, mining company Alpart, and its community council is providing $3 million in agricultural assistance to farmers in St. Elizabeth. At the handing over ceremony held on April 18, at the Alpart Sport Club, in Nain, in the parish, the farmers received 450...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and  Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton will host an Arable Lands Irrigating and Growing for the Nation (ALIGN) business meeting on April 27,  at the St. Dorothy's Anglican Church Hall, Church Pen, Old Harbour, St. Catherine, commencing at 5:00 p.m. The meeting is to engage farmers in St. Catherine and areas of Clarendon who jointly...

MANDEVILLE — Denbigh High School student, Michael Lewis and Corinaldi Avenue Primary School student, Siegel Allen are the 2011 Jamaica 4-H Clubs Boy and Girl of the Year. The two were crowned at the National Achievement Expo held recently at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon after their projects were judged to be the most outstanding. Beaming in his achievement, 17-year...

KINGSTON — To achieve an effective transition to a sustainable sugar cane industry, the Government has allocated just over $2 billion for the Sugar Transformation Project in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. As stated in the Estimates, the project aims to develop a sustainable private sector- led sugar cane industry by 2015;...

KINGSTON — The Competitive Coffee Enterprises Programme is to be further enhanced with an allocation of $49 million in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Implemented in September 2010, the objectives of the project are to provide capacity building of coffee co-operatives in the central and northern regions of Jamaica; improve the competitiveness of small...

KINGSTON — A sum of $148 million has been allocated in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives, to continue work on the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Agricultural Competitiveness Programme this year. The objectives of the project are: to increase competitiveness in the agricultural sector; to facilitate small and medium farmers' access to markets; ensure...

PORT ANTONIO — Scores of persons participated in the Portland leg of the Ministry of Agriculture/European Union (EU) sponsored “Eat Jamaican” campaign road show, in Port Antonio, on Friday April 15. The show featured value added products, cultural performances by a number of persons and guest appearances by comedians Ity and Fancy Cat. Among the entities involved were the Jamaica...

MONTEGO BAY — Western Jamaica in for an agricultural treat come Easter Monday, April 25, with the staging of the Montpelier Agricultural and Industrial Show, on the Montpelier Show grounds on that day. Addressing the official launch at the Montego Bay offices of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), on Wednesday April 13, President of the St. James Association of...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Dr. Christopher Tufton, has called on the private sector to support the World Bank/Inter-American Bank-funded parametric insurance scheme. Dr. Tufton, who was speaking at the launch of Jamaica Blue Mountain (Jablum) decaffeinated coffee, produced by Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel Tuesday April 12, explained that the scheme protects...

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...