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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has noted that Jamaican primary producers are being "short changed" within CARICOM due to a subsidised agro processing sector in oil rich Trinidad and Tobago. He accused the subsidised agro processing sector there of "using raw materials imported extra regionally with unclear duty arrangements," adding that it is something that has...

Farmers of yellow yam in St. Ann are being urged to attend the training sessions being held to help improve productivity in the parish. The appeal has come from Manager for the St. Ann Branch of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Pedro Worghs, who told JIS News that a training session was held at a Food and Agriculture/European Union...

The Financial Access for Responsible Members (FARM) programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is seeking to establish a platform that will yield significant post harvest benefits for farmers involved, as well as other stakeholders. Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Marc Panton. FARM, which commenced in November 2009, aims to enhance Jamaica's agricultural output by...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, has called on farmers to take advantage of support provided by organisations such as the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the JAS Association of Branch Societies, to improve production and productivity. "See how you can better utilise the input material made available through these support groups in order to get...

The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is assisting St. Ann farmers who experienced losses in Irish potato production, under the Financial Access for Responsible Members (FARM) programme. RADA Parish Manager, Pedro Worghs, told JIS News that owing to drought conditions and late planting, the farmers suffered low yields and were not successful in...

Inmates at Richmond Farm Adult Correctional Centre in St. Mary are now benefitting from skills training, and physical wellness facilities as part of the rehabilitation process. A workshop complex and gymnasium were officially opened at the institution on Friday, June 18, under the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders and Deported Persons Programme, which was developed in 2008, through a partnership...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that measures are being put in place to assist the coffee industry, which is facing challenges due to the current global economic climate. Dr. Tufton explained that while most of the coffee produced locally is sold outside of Jamaica, with Japan being a key market, there has been a...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Christopher Tufton, says his Ministry is developing a Food Security and Nutrition Policy programme, to help define food security and how it can influence the nutritional requirements of Jamaicans. Speaking at the launch of the 58th Denbigh Agricultural Show, at Hi-Pro ACE, White Marl, St. Catherine, Wednesday (June 16), the Minister said he expected...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) recently hosted a forum at the Clarendon parish office of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), to sensitise persons to the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI). Agricultural Specialist with JSIF, Vincent Thompson, told the large audience that the programme is seeking to create employment and empower rural communities, by supporting investments in agriculture and...

As part of a Protected Agriculture Project in North East St. Catherine, a greenhouse was officially opened in the community of Top Mountain, Thursday (June 10). The greenhouse is one of four constructed by the Christiana Potato Growers' Association in the Pear Tree Grove and Top Mountain communities at a cost of approximately $6 million, through funding by the Constituency...

Farmers are to benefit from an upcoming project involving the use of small hand-held tools to assist with land preparation, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, told a Farmers' Forum at Town Hall, Guys Hill, St. Catherine, Thursday (June 10). The Minister said that the tools will be leased to the farmers through the Rural Agricultural Development...

Nearly 200 farmers, in eight parishes, are currently benefitting from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' Financial Access for Responsible Members (FARM) programme. The initiative, which commenced in November 2009, aims to enhance Jamaica's agricultural output by facilitating individuals serious about making a livelihood out of farming, with access to funding to finance their undertakings. Upwards of $87 million has...