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The Ministry of Agriculture will be publishing the retail and farm gate prices of popular produce, to help consumers better plan their budgets. The publication, which is being prepared, will be made available on a weekly basis, the Ministry has reported. With the Marketing Division of the Ministry reporting up to a 700 per cent increase between farm gate and...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has announced that refurbishing of the Wait-A-Bit multi-purpose building, in Upper Trelawny, as a yam packaging house for farmers of the parish, would get underway soon. He pointed out that the project would cost some $15 million, and would be completed within six months. "We are moving ahead with the plans that were announced...

Persons and businesses found stockpiling lobster for the annual closed season, from April to June, will face heavy penalties, when the new Fisheries Act comes into effect. This was revealed by Acting Director of the Marine Branch of the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ian Jones, in an interview with JIS News. "Following imminent passage of the new...

State Minister for Agriculture, J.C. Hutchinson, has urged farmers to join their local Production and Marketing Organisation (PMO), to benefit from assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture. The PMOs, which comprise groups of farmers at the district level, are responsible for distributing farming inputs, which are channelled through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA). "We have put in place a...

Persons are being warned not to fish in fish sanctuaries or they could face hefty fines ranging from $250,000 to $2,000,000. Acting Director of the Marine Branch of the Fisheries Division, Ian Jones, speaking to JIS News during a tour of the Black River Bay fish sanctuary last week, said that previously, the fines were so low that some fishers...

The Ministry of Agriculture is looking at using artificial shelters to replenish lobster stock in the fish sanctuaries being established across the island, and will be seeking private sector support in the process. These shelters, called condominiums, have already proved to be a success, where they are being used in lobster breeding at the Bowden Fish Sanctuary in St. Thomas....

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the fish sanctuaries, which were being established across the island, would overtime be developed into visitor attractions. "The fish sanctuaries have worked in other countries and overtime . we are going to set up tours of the sanctuaries, where fishers can use their boats and be part of it," he stated....

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has called on the People's Co-operative Banks to devise new and easier ways to assess farmers for agricultural loans. The Minster, who was addressing the Annual General Meeting of the National People's Co-operative Bank held recently at the Kendal Conference Centre in Manchester, said that the small farmer, in seeking capital, must be evaluated...

State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, J.C. Hutchinson, has said that the Ministry has put a number of programmes in place to assist farmers, with the aim of boosting agricultural production. "We have started what we call the production and productivity programme. This is one where we are actually distributing herbicides. We are giving people assistance in land preparation,...

Seven members of the St. James 4-H Movement were recently presented with young female Nubian goats for rearing and breading, as the club's goat revolving programme moved into its second year. The project, which was launched in the parish, last year, is valued at some $200,000, with a total of 11 clubbites and two leaders benefiting so far. Under the...

Young people in St. Elizabeth are being urged to get into beekeeping, to satisfy the huge local and international demand for honey and other bee by-products. "Jamaica has potential; very, very big potential in beekeeping, because honey is in short supply both locally and internationally," said First Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Federation of Commercial Apiculturists (JFCA), Elton Cawley. He...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, has underscored the need for higher output in agriculture, to reduce the number of waivers that the Ministry is called on to grant for imported food items. The Minister, who spoke at the Annual General Meeting of the National People's Co-operative (PC) Bank of Jamaica, on Wednesday (February 18), at the...