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The HEART Trust/NTA will be staging a stakeholder's consultation for displaced workers in the banana industry, at the Tim Bamboo Hotel, Port Antonio Portland on Friday (September 4). The consultation is being conducted by the HEART/NTA, for the purpose of developing a programme for the retraining of ex-banana workers who exited the industry within the last decade, including laid off...

Sub-grant contracts totalling $11.4 million were signed Friday (August 28) for community organisations to undertake small projects, under the European Union's (EU) Banana Support Programme. In March, the EU and the Government signed off on a grant of more than $211 million, under the Rural Economic and Social Infrastructure Support Project for Jamaica's Traditional Banana Growing Parishes (RESISP). The programme...

Significant work in establishing the necessary framework that will mainstream disaster risk reduction and management has already been undertaken in at least two sectors, Mitigation Programme Officer at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ms. Kareema Aitkens-Mitchell, has disclosed. Speaking at a recent workshop on: 'Strengthening Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction', at the Planning Institute of Jamaica...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the European Commission (EC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU), on Monday (August 24), committing euro 5.9 million (approximately J$730 million) to a food facility initiative, in keeping with the Government's food security programme. The MoU was signed by Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton; Head...

About 60 farmers from Maldon, Maroon Town and adjoining communities in South St. James, dislocated as a result of the downturn in the Banana Industry, are receiving specialised training in other skills such as tiling and housekeeping. The training projects are funded under the European Union Banana Resuscitation Programme, and carried out by the HEART/NTA's Granville Vocational Training Centre (VTC)....

The state-owned Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings Limited (SCJH) has commenced the upgrading of its three remaining sugar factories to meet the 2010 crop, using funds from the US$15 million (J$1.3 billion) pre-shipment financing arrangement with Italian firm, Eridania Suisse. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, confirmed at a press briefing at the Bernard Lodge Sugar Estate, St....

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wesley Hughes, says that the near 10 percent increase in agricultural production in the April-June 2009 quarter, was more than mere recovery from recent disasters. "The industry benefitted from the Government's productivity programme, and we saw significant increases in some areas, for example, onion production was up 228 percent, Irish...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has assured farmers that his Ministry will not allow the importation of foodstuff to drive them out of agriculture. "We have launched a programme, where we are now reclaiming some of the crops that we used to grow and grow well, by helping farmers with the best practices, with the training,...

Agriculture and tourism continue to be the strongest performers in the Jamaican economy, according to the Bank of Jamaica's Quarterly Economic Report for April-June, which was released Wednesday (August 12). The Report said that Agriculture continues to be one of the few sectors to record positive growth, despite the impact of the global economic crisis. Its recovery is expected to...

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is placing much emphasis on loans for agricultural projects. According to General Manager for Approved Financial Institutions (AFI), Emmy Lewars, "in all our credit lines, we have put agriculture in them to facilitate softer interest rates for agricultural projects. And at this time, we should emphasise 'grow what we eat, and eat what we...

The University of the West Indies (UWI) has embarked on a programme to assist farmers to gain the maximum benefit from agricultural production, and agri-processing. The institution, through its Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, is using research to put the agricultural sector in a position to supply the food needs of the country, and to extract medicinal ingredients from...

The Coffee Industry Board (CIB) will be providing technical assistance to coffee farmers to boost production and productivity, so as to return the sector to profitability. Director General of the CIB, Christopher Gentles, said that a number of fora will be held, which will equip farmers with the techniques to minimise crop losses. "They (fora) will deal with proper use...