Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the country’s Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit (PLPU) has been reaping success recently in curtailing acts of praedial larceny across the country. “We saw over 80 per cent increase in arrests between 2019 and 2020. [Additionally] we saw a 114 per cent increase in overall operations,” Mr. Green outlined while addressing the...

Teams from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) are assessing the extent of damage sustained by the agriculture sector from the heavy rains associated with the passage of Tropical Storm Grace. “We have dispatched teams from RADA across the island to meet with the farmers to see what is the sort of damage that has been done on the ground....

The Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, is establishing a Mango Agro Park in the Toll Gate area of Clarendon and is seeking investors to participate in the venture. Chief Executive Officer of the AIC, Dr. Al Powell, told JIS News that already 15 applications have been received, including from overseas interests. He said...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Ministry will be allocating resources to transform the Hounslow Research Station in St. Elizabeth into a centre of excellence for small ruminant production in western Jamaica. He noted that the facility, which is currently underutilized, “is part of a project that has already been approved by our public infrastructure committee...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green (seated right), listens as Livestock Support Manager at Nutramix, Dr. Gabrielle Young, delivers a presentation at a small ruminants artificial insemination workshop held at the Denbigh Agricultural Showground in Clarendon on August 4. Nutramix, in partnership with Goldmine Boers, hosted the event for approximately 45 to 55 goat farmers.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, on Tuesday (August 3) officially launched the $50 million National Small Ruminant Development Programme at the Hounslow Research Station in St. Elizabeth. The programme is geared towards rapidly increasing the population of primarily goat and sheep, thus increasing the local production, productivity and quality of small ruminant meat and milk. This is...

More than 200 elderly persons and shut-ins from Middle Quarters and its environs in St. Elizabeth were treated to a warm meal and care packages recently by the Middle Quarters Community Development Committee (CDC).  President of the Middle Quarters CDC, Stashauna Burnett, told JIS News that the initiative was in response to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on...

The Government is providing approximately $70 million in loan funding assistance for the island’s dairy farmers.  Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the funds are being provided through the Jamaica Dairy Development Board’s (JDDB) Dairy Concessionary Loan Programme.  “Through this financial scheme, farmers can improve the quality of [their livestock and] increase [their] herd numbers,” Mr. Green said.  He was speaking during a ceremony for the hand-over of silage to the St. Elizabeth Dairy Development Co-operative, on Friday (July 23), at...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, is encouraging farmers to utilise more climate-smart technology and practices in order to minimise crop loss from more frequent and extreme weather events.   He said that as a small island developing state, Jamaica is very susceptible to the effects of climate change.   “We have seen it; no one has to convince us in agriculture about the realities of the longer dry periods, shorter and more intense rainy periods...