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As part of measures to protect the country's fish stock, the Government has announced a ban on the use of mechanical guns for fishing, effective March 31, 2010. "We are not banning spear fishing, what we are saying is that we are going to embark on a programme to replace, at the cost of the Government, the mechanical spear guns...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is in the process of merging the Agricultural Development Corporation, the Agricultural Support Services and Productive Projects Fund Limited to form the Agro-Invest Corporation. "What this entity will do is address the investment strategy in agriculture," said portfolio Minister, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, in his contribution to the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in the House...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Christopher Tufton is touting cassava as having made significant strides during the past year, with a number of products on the market. Making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate Tuesday (July 7), Dr. Tufton applauded some private sector entities for having taken up the challenge of producing value-added products from cassava. He singled out...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that his Ministry will be introducing several measures this year to address the challenges facing small farmers seeking to access credit from financial institutions. Dr. Tufton, who was speaking in the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on July 7, said that the main challenge is to ensure that once funds...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has lauded the efforts of JP Tropical Foods/St Mary Farm in producing value added products like chips from locally grown foods, including cassava. Dr. Tufton, who was touring the farm on Friday (July 3) to view its recovery from the devastation of its banana cultivation by Hurricane Dean in 2007, said...

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, expressed his pleasure that test plots for the new variety of MD2 pineapples are flourishing in Jamaica, while touring pilot projects in St Mary on Friday (July 3). The Minister said he first saw this variety of pineapples when he visited Costa Rica last year, and had discussions with the Costa Rican Minister...

Jamaica is currently in the middle of reaping its first crop of rice grown under the Amity Hall Rice Project in St. Catherine. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, and stakeholders in the sector were invited to the farm on July 6, for a tour of the facilities and to sample the first of the crop in...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding told this morning's session of the 30th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom that the European Commission (EC) has presented a revised schedule for the reduction of tariffs on bananas from the non-African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. Mr. Golding was making his report as chair of...

The Coffee Industry Board (CIB) is seeking private sector funding for the development of a 1,000-acre coffee farm as part of efforts to boost production of the crop. Board Chairman, Howard Mitchell, said that the CIB has already written proposals for financing for the venture, which will be designed in 200-acre modules. "The total development cost for this project is...

With the recent implementation of the "One Stop Shop" Import Export Inspection Centre, plans are now afoot to implement a Food Safety Agency to consolidate the work of the seven agencies housed at the centre. The announcement was made by chairperson of the sub-committee for the establishment of the Jamaica Import Export Inspection Centre, Sheila Harvey, Wednesday (July 1) at...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw says agriculture, and agro-industry in particular, must be a critical part of the replacement industry for bauxite. "It's not to say that bauxite and alumina is completely dead. Clearly, when the world market is buoyant again, we will be able to see our factories reopen, but the truth is the economic...

The crowning of the National Farm Queen will be among the main attractions at the 57th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show, at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon on July 31-August 2, 2009. As the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) continues to recognise the significant role Jamaican women play in the development of agriculture, the National Farm Queen Competition...