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In 1953, the first three barrels of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee were shipped to Japan, and so began a long relationship which led to nearly 100 percent, or approximately 400,000 boxes, of Jamaica's premium coffee being exported to Japan, annually. In 2004, Jamaican coffee farms took a beating from Hurricane Ivan, causing a significant decrease in production. This resulted in...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr. Donovan Stanberry has said that the Ministry will continue to support the efforts of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), as it seeks to continue to develop the sector. Mr. Stanberry was speaking at RADA's 20th Anniversary Church Service, held at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church on Sunday, August 29....

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, has welcomed the $1.3 billion in budgetary support being provided by the European Union (EU) for the sugar industry. The grant was officially handed over to Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, at Jamaica House Thursday (August 26), as part of a $4 billion disbursement,...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Christopher Tufton, wants to cut importation of onions into the island by half within the next two years, by increasing local production. Speaking at the Research and Development Division of the Ministry of Agriculture's Onion Field Day, Tuesday (August 24), at the Bodles Research Station in St. Catherine, Dr. Tufton pointed out that the...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has lauded the work of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in Jamaica. Speaking recently with the Executive Vice-President of CIDA, David Maloney, in Ottawa, Canada, Dr. Tufton said one of the projects being financed by the Canadian government, through CIDA, has added value to the Agriculture sector. Minister of...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that Jamaica can reduce by as much as 30 per cent, its food import bill, if a number of initiatives are put in place. The Minister was speaking with his Canadian counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Hon. Gerry Ritz, recently in Ottawa, Canada. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries,...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has been visiting several farms in Canada, to explore the possibility of using a Canadian model to set up more goat farms in Jamaica, with the aim of reducing the country's dependence on imported goat meat. On Monday, August 9, the Minister and his delegation toured several Canadian farms in...

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed Friday August 6 between Jamaica's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of Guelph, Canada, to foster collaboration in research, student and information exchange and technical assistance. The signatories were Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, and Vice-President of Research at the university, Professor Kevin Hall. In an...

Like many young Jamaican farmers in his position, Ricardo Hyman is grateful to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' Young Farmers' Entrepreneurship Programme (YFEP) for providing him with the opportunity to start and sustain his own business. Since 2009, the 36-year-old farmer from Amity Hill, St. Catherine, has been reaping the benefits of the programme which provides support for young...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has commended farmers for showing "tremendous resilience" in helping to increase agricultural production, despite the recent drought and other challenges. "Last year, agriculture grew by 12.1 per cent, a miraculous achievement and I want to pay tribute to all the farm leaders, the Minister and his team, but most importantly the farmers, for their tremendous performance,"...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' effort to get more Jamaicans to take up farming as a viable economic activity is yielding results, with 12,500 new players joining the profession last year. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, speaking at the opening of the Denbigh Agri-Industrial Show in May Pen, Clarendon on Saturday July 31, said that as a result...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, is assuring Jamaicans that fish being sold at the Mandeville market is safe for consumption. He told vendors and shoppers at the market yesterday (July 29) that tests carried out at fishing villages and markets on the south coast for the presence of the chemical, formaldehyde, have all came back negative....