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Public Education Specialist with the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), Christeen Forbes, and Director of Engineering and Technical Services at the NIC, Rohan Stewart, take part in a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, on December 17.

Thousands of NIC Customers and Others Receive Free Non-Potable Water

More than 3,000 customers and others have received free non-potable water from the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), under its programme to provide the commodity to affected communities, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. This represents 15,000 cubic metres or 3.9...

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (background centre) shares a moment with newly minted landowners after a land titling ceremony held at the Lacovia Community Centre in St. Elizabeth on Friday ( December 12). Also participating in the ceremony were Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth North West, Andrew Morris (left) and Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Franklin Witter (fifth right).

Government Looking to Better Utilise State Owned Lands

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, delivers the main address during Newport‑Fersan (Jamaica) Limited’s Hurricane Melissa Support Handover Ceremony, held on Thursday (December 11) at the fertiliser company’s headquarters in Kingston. The entity has donated fertiliser, valued $25 million, to be distributed to farmers severely impacted by the major category-five hurricane.

Farmers to Receive Post-hurricane Soil-testing Support to Guide Replanting Efforts

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (right), shares in the symbolic handover of fertiliser by Newport-Fersan (Jamaica) Limited with the company’s Managing Director, Dennis Valdez (centre), and Chairman of the Agriculture Ministry’s Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force, Michael Pryce. The occasion was Newport-Fersan’s Hurricane Melissa Support Handover Ceremony, held on Thursday (December 11) at the fertiliser company’s headquarters in Kingston. Newport-Fersan donated $25 million worth of fertiliser (over 7,000 bags), to be distributed to farmers who were severely impacted by the major category-five storm.

Newport-Fersan Donates $25 Million Worth of Fertiliser to Farmers

Cedar Valley farmers in St. Thomas proudly display post-Hurricane Melissa crop-recovery kits received on December 9, to aid recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa.

Farmers in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas Receive Post-Hurricane Crop-Recovery Kits

Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project (SPADP) Project Manager, Wayne Williams, sits beside one of the National Irrigation Commission’s unit chambers supplying water to farms at the Parnassus Agro‑Park in Clarendon, during a visit on Tuesday (December 9). The agro‑park’s irrigation infrastructure sustained minimal damage during Hurricane Melissa, enabling farmers swift access to water as they rebuild their livelihoods.

3 months ago Agriculture

Parnassus Agro-Park Irrigation System Withstands Hurricane Melissa’s Impact

Minimal damage to the core irrigation infrastructure at the Parnassus Agro‑Park in Clarendon enabled farmers to regain quick access to water as they rebuild their livelihoods following Hurricane Melissa. The agro‑park forms part of the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project (SPADP) and was commissioned in April 2025. It utilises former sugar-cane lands for cultivating cash crops for small, medium, and...

A young farmer adjusts a drip line ahead of planting scallion at the Parnassus Agro-Park in Clarendon, on Tuesday (December 9). The agro-park’s irrigation infrastructure sustained minimal damage during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

3 months ago Agriculture

Amity Hall/Bridge Pen Agro-Park Set for Completion by June 2026

The Amity Hall/Bridge Pen Agro-Park in St. Catherine, a component of the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project (SPADP), is scheduled for completion by June 2026. Project Manager for SPADP, Wayne Williams, made the disclosure on December 9 during an interview with JIS News at the Parnassus Agro-Park in Clarendon. The Parnassus Agro-Park is also a part of the project and...

Senior Director for Production, Marketing and Special Projects, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Xavier Charvis, addresses the second of four RADA Recovery & Resilience Stakeholder sessions, held at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining at Hope Gardens, on December 8.

3 months ago Agriculture

RADA to Support Farmers in the Production of Short-Term Crops

For Jamaicans worried about the cost of ground provisions and others, Senior Director for Production, Marketing and Special Projects, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Xavier Charvis, has promised to track prices, while supporting farmers with resources that will produce short-term crops. During his address at the second of four RADA Recovery & Resilience Stakeholder sessions, held at the offices of...

Livestock Specialist, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Maxine Brown, speaking at the second RADA Recovery & Resilience Forum held on Monday (December 8) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining in Hope Gardens, St. Andrew.

3 months ago Agriculture

RADA Takes Pop-Up Vet Clinic to Trelawny

Livestock farmers and pet owners in Trelawny are being urged to take their animals to the next in the series of Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) free pop-up veterinary clinics at the Hague Showground in Falmouth on December 10. Teams from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining’s Veterinary Services Division, Nutramix, and the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of...

General Manager of the Banana Board, Janet Conie, says the Board will be facilitating insurance payouts to banana and plantain farmers affected by Hurricane Melissa.

3 months ago Agriculture

Banana Board Urges Farmers to Register with Catastrophe Fund

Banana and plantain farmers islandwide are being encouraged to register with the Banana Board’s Catastrophe Fund in preparation for the 2026 hurricane season. The Fund is a disaster‑recovery insurance scheme created to support Jamaica’s banana and plantain farmers after hurricanes and other catastrophic events. It aims to assist producers serving both export and domestic markets. To benefit, farmers must register...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, admires a champion bull during the staging of the 2024 Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show.

3 months ago Agriculture

Private Tractor Owners Urged to Partner with Agriculture Ministry

Private tractor owners are being encouraged to partner with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, to extend the reach of the free tractor service being provided to farmers. Under the initiative, farmers will be able to access the Rural Agricultural Development Authority’s (RADA) tractor services free of cost for six months to prepare their land for replanting. The intervention...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (5th right), shakes hands with the GraceKennedy (GK) Group

3 months ago Agriculture

Farmers Urged to Sign Up for GK Insurance In Preparation for Dry Period

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, is appealing to farmers to sign up for the Government’s GK Insurance Programme, particularly as they prepare for the upcoming dry period. “It might make sense to get some protection against drought as we go into what will be a very hot period,” he said. The GK Insurance Programme provides protection...