This year’s staging of the Montpelier Agricultural Show in St. James will take place on Monday, April 1, beginning at 8:00 a.m. President of the St. James Branch of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Glendon Harris, told JIS News in an interview that patrons can expect many different displays. “Persons will be able to access chemicals used for insects and...

The Westmoreland Public Health Department is partnering with the Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company to sensitise cane cutters in the parish about protecting themselves from leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by the leptospira bacteria, which can potentially lead to fatal infection of the kidney, liver, brain, lungs or heart. Among the carriers of the virus are rodents, cattle, pigs, horses,...

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mez Herbal Jamaica, Raven Rae, is calling for more equity to be given to women in the cannabis space both locally and globally. “Include us more in everything, we are here…we need to be visible. I think that creating more opportunities for community membership, networking and female awareness campaigns can highlight where we...

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is calling for greater use of technology by stakeholders within the coconut industry.  Speaking in a recent interview with JIS News, Executive Director for CARDI,  Ansari Hosein, said the application of technology will help farmers and agro-processors lower their production costs.  He noted that employing technology tools also helps in identifying pests...

Investors looking for an opportunity to join the growing multibillion-dollar global spice sector are being encouraged to explore the local production of ginger, turmeric and pimento. Chief of Party for the Food for Progress Jamaica Spices (JaSpice) Project, Dr. Ronald Blake, said that ginger and turmeric are largely used in both nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. “For all three crops, what the...

More than 40 stakeholders in the coconut sector across the Caribbean are in the island participating in a five-day Regional Coconut Workshop being held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston from March 4 to 8. Participants include coconut growers, researchers, agro-processors, government representatives and Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) personnel from several countries. Being held under...

Some $1.2 billion is to be invested in repurposing underutilised former bauxite lands for agricultural use, says Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green. “What we are looking to do is to take those lands that are now being underutilised or that mining has been finished and they are now restored, and to put them into active production,”...