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The Government is pursuing talks with overseas stakeholders, in a bid to determine the fate of the three bauxite plants whose operations have been scaled down. Activities at the plants - West Indies Alumina Company's (WINDALCO) operations in Ewarton, St. Catherine and Kirkvine, Manchester, and Alumina Partners (ALPART) in Nain, St. Elizabeth - were scaled down earlier this year by...

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Marc Panton, has called for greater public awareness of the need to reverse the environmental degradation occurring in the society. Giving the main address at a World Earth Day Exposition, at Castleton Gardens, St. Mary on Friday (May 8), Dr. Panton said there are too many instances of deforestation,...

A ginger project costing some $1.5 million is to be established at Top Alston, in North West Clarendon. This is one of three National Labour Day Projects endorsed by the National Labour Day Planning Committee. The other projects are the installation of a multi-purpose court in Riversdale, St. Catherine, and the sprucing up of the St Ann's Bay Hospital. In...

AGROFEST 2009, the annual agricultural show and exhibition staged by the Kingston and St. Andrew Association of Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural SocietY (JAS), will be staged on the grounds of Jamaica College, Hope Road, Kingston, on Saturday, May 23. The announcement was made today (May 9) by President of the JAS, Senator Norman Grant, at the official launch...

An interesting feature of rural life is the simple, unspoiled existence of persons who have come to devise creative ways of surviving under challenging circumstances. For the farmers of Duff House and New Forest, in South Manchester, farming has long been their main economic activity. This area, bordering the bread basket parish of St. Elizabeth, is traditionally known for the...

More than 420 farmers in Manchester, who are members of the New Forest/Duff House Water Users Association, are to have improved access to irrigation water to boost the production of crops. Under a $228 million (US$2.57 million) project, which is being undertaken under the National Irrigation Development Programme (NIDP), five production wells will be constructed in the New Forest/Duff House...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has stepped up activities geared towards safeguarding the island's livestock population against a possible outbreak of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry, Dr. Osbil Watson, said that animal disease surveillance, laboratory diagnoses, and farmer education and public awareness programmes, which have been ongoing over the past several months,...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, will highlight opportunities for investment in Jamaica's agricultural sector at a seminar slated for May 12 in New York City USA. Themed, 'Farming is Back', the session, which is being organised and hosted by the Jamaican Consulate in New York, will focus on production, post harvest processing, greenhouse technology, among other...

Ebony Park HEART Academy, in Clarendon, one of Jamaica's chief agricultural training institutions, is well on its way to ensuring the country's food security, through its agro-processing operations. The institution has embarked on a drive to minimise wastage of agricultural produce, by processing an array of products, including jams, jellies, hot pepper sauce and tomato paste. At the recently staged...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Ministry is ready to assist farmers who wish to grow rice by identifying suitable land, technical support and machinery, once the current pilot project proves that viable yields are possible without burdening consumers by passing on undue costs. "Jamaicans consume some 100,000 tonnes of imported rice annually,...

As Jamaica moves to improve its skills in greenhouse technology in order to boost agricultural production and local food security, 12 young persons have been enrolled in a Modified Environment Agriculture Certification Programme at the Ebony Park HEART Academy in Clarendon. The 12 young persons are learning skills to correctly fabricate greenhouses, as well as use protected horticultural and agricultural...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has said that there is no evidence that the 'Swine Influenza' which continues to devastate several countries across the globe, originated in animals. At a meeting of the National Emergency Animal Disease Committee (NEADCOM) yesterday (April 29), at the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry, it was stressed that the disease appears to be...