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The Portland Parish Development Committee (PDC) has embarked on a number of strategies aimed at revitalizing its operations, and improving its effectiveness in pursuing the mandate to serve the people of the parish. The strategies include fundraising ventures to enable financial sustainability, re-energizing of the Secretariat and the implementation of initiatives aimed at reorganizational strengthening and capacity building. These were...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, said that Government was pursuing a number of initiatives for young people to pursue a successful career in agriculture. Responding to a caller on the radio programme, 'Jamaica House Live' earlier this week, Dr. Tufton said there was the need for aspiring agronomists to have financial support for their education. The Credit Bureau will...

Banker Aubyn Hill has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) Holdings Limited, which manages the remaining Government-owned sugar estates- Frome, Monymusk and Bernard Lodge. This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, in a statement to the House of Representatives Tuesday (February 23) at Gordon House....

Two new hybrid disease-resistant varieties of tomatoes, the Summer Star and Striker, were unveiled at the Ministry of Agriculture's research station at Bodles, St. Catherine, on Wednesday (February24). Their development was a collaborative effort between the Ministry's Research and Development division, Ansa Seed Company of California, USA and St. Jago Farm Supplies, St. Catherine. Both varieties are among four hybrids...

Cabinet has approved the appointment of a Commission to review, enquire and make recommendations as to changes, if any, to the current regulatory, institutional and pricing arrangements in the sugar sector. This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, in a statement to the House of Representatives on February 23. Dr. Tufton informed that the...

A yam packaging facility was officially opened at Wait-A-Bit, in South Trelawny, by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, on February 22. The building, which was refurbished at a cost of $16 million, represents the first of six similar plants scheduled to be established islandwide, as part of the Ministry's proposed post-harvest management infrastructure, as annual losses...

Pepper farmers in St. Elizabeth stand to benefit from the establishment of a hot pepper processing facility in Hounslow in the parish. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, making the announcement at a town hall meeting at the St. Peter's Anglican Church in Pedro Plains on Friday (February 18), said that the facility should start operations in...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, has said that the organisation is providing a range of support programmes and services to the country's farmers, which are geared towards increasing production and productivity. These, he said, include training seminars, production development projects, and tractor tillage programmes. He further cited collaboration with Jamaica Trade and Invest to access funding...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that his Ministry will give agricultural shows the support they need to represent the efforts of farmers and project the sector's importance to Jamaica. Dr. Tufton said that the Ministry has plans to empower and enhance agricultural and livestock shows, across Jamaica, for the purpose. "I am going to ensure...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Government would be reviewing the land use policy this year, in an effort to support and strengthen farming and agricultural activities across Jamaica. "We are going to have to, as a country, spend more time recognising the importance of preserving our resources in order to make agriculture...

Opposition Senator, Norman Grant, wants a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) involving Government, Opposition and the farming sector to ensure sustained national focus and budgetary support for the growth and development of agriculture. Speaking in the 2009/10 State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday (February 19), he said that the MOU would involve setting targets for the sector,...

Resident of Kingston 13, Mr. Michael Murray, is not allowing the current global recession to stop him from eating healthy, so he has heeded the advice of the Government by starting his own back yard garden. He recently visited the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) offices on Half-Way Tree Road, in Kingston, to show off his most recent crop of guavas,...