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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...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the agricultural sector has been responding positively and filling the void left by a fallout in other industries. He pointed out that despite numerous challenges facing the productive sector throughout Jamaica, production within the agricultural sector has been steadfast and doing better than most of the other sectors....

Several peanut farmers in St. Elizabeth benefitted from a recent training seminar, hosted by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, at the Warminster peanut factory in the parish. Presenter at the seminar, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Mark Panton, told JIS News that the farmers can increase their yields by controlling their farming techniques. "At the...

Thousands of Jamaican farmers are to be exposed to best practices in agricultural production and available marketing opportunities through the inaugural staging of the Production and Marketing Organisation (PMO) conference and exposition tomorrow (June 25) at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium. The one-day event, which is the brainchild of Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, is being hosted...