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Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda (left), and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (right), plant a tree at the Amity Hall Agro Park in St. Catherine, on August 31. It was the official launch of a multiagency partnership to plant 6,000 trees, in commemoration of Jamaica’s 60th Anniversary of Independence. Others pictured are (from left) Chief Executive Officer and Conservator of Forests, Ainsley A. Henry; Board member of the Agro Investment Corporation, Errol Green; Orville Palmer, and two children of a farmer in the area.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda (left), and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (right), plant a tree at the Amity Hall Agro Park in St. Catherine, on August 31. It was the official launch of a multiagency partnership to plant 6,000 trees, in commemoration of Jamaica’s 60th Anniversary of Independence. Others pictured are (from left) Chief Executive Officer and Conservator of Forests, Ainsley A. Henry; Board member of the Agro Investment Corporation, Errol Green; Orville Palmer, and two children of a farmer in the area.

Initiative by AIC to Plant 6000 Trees

To strengthen agriculture and build the country’s resilience to climate change effects, the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC) is facilitating a multiagency partnership to plant 6,000 trees The trees to be planted will include fruit, ornamental and timber, and the exercise will...
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (centre), converses with (from left) Project Manager, Southern Plains Agricultural Development (SPAD) Project, Wayne Williams; Chief Executive Officer, National Irrigation Commission, Joseph Gyles; British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Judith Slater, and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Representative, Andrew Dupigny, during a tour of the Amity Hall worksite in St. Catherine on Thursday (September 1).
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (centre), converses with (from left) Project Manager, Southern Plains Agricultural Development (SPAD) Project, Wayne Williams; Chief Executive Officer, National Irrigation Commission, Joseph Gyles; British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Judith Slater, and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Representative, Andrew Dupigny, during a tour of the Amity Hall worksite in St. Catherine on Thursday (September 1).

Southern Plains Agricultural Project Progressing Ahead of Schedule
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (second right), displays potatoes from this year’s crop as he listens to a point being made by Coordinator of the National Irish Potato and Onion Programme, Locksley Waites (left). Occasion was the launch of the 2022 National Irish Potato and Onion Programme in Guy’s Hill, St. Catherine, on August 31. Also pictured are (from left) Member of Parliament, St. Mary Western, Robert Montague; Member of Parliament for St. Catherine North East, Kerensia Morrison; and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Winston Simpson.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (second right), displays potatoes from this year’s crop as he listens to a point being made by Coordinator of the National Irish Potato and Onion Programme, Locksley Waites (left). Occasion was the launch of the 2022 National Irish Potato and Onion Programme in Guy’s Hill, St. Catherine, on August 31. Also pictured are (from left) Member of Parliament, St. Mary Western, Robert Montague; Member of Parliament for St. Catherine North East, Kerensia Morrison; and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Winston Simpson.

Government Invests $200 Million in Irish Potato and Onion Production Project
Onion farmer, Lawrence Lynch, on his farm in Yallahs, St Thomas, where he has contributed to the parish considerably exceeding the national onion yield.
Onion farmer, Lawrence Lynch, on his farm in Yallahs, St Thomas, where he has contributed to the parish considerably exceeding the national onion yield.

St. Thomas Farmers Making Strides in Onion Production
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaks at a handover ceremony for two backhoes to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to support farming communities in St Thomas and Westmoreland. The event took place at the Agro-Investment Compound in Kingston on Wednesday (August 24).
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaks at a handover ceremony for two backhoes to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to support farming communities in St Thomas and Westmoreland. The event took place at the Agro-Investment Compound in Kingston on Wednesday (August 24).

Millions Allocated to Help Farmers Prepare Land

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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (centre) and State Minister, Hon. Franklin Witter (fifth left), participate in a ribbon-cutting exercise at the handover ceremony for two backhoes to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to support farming communities in St. Thomas and Westmoreland. Joining them are (from left) Parish Agricultural Managers, Westmoreland and St Thomas, Yuri Stephenson and Bevene Martin-Dickenson; Acting CEO, RADA, Winston Simpson; Vice Chairman, RADA Board of Directors, Richard King; and Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Orville Palmer.
AgricultureTransport

RADA Gets Backhoes to Assist Farmers in St. Thomas and Westmoreland

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has received two backhoes from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to provide services to farming communities in St. Thomas and Westmoreland. The units, costing some $38.76 million, were handed over by portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., today (August 24) at the Agro-Investment Corporation compound in Kingston. Mr. Charles Jr said the move...
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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, bumps fists with participants in the Budding Farmers Summer Grow Camp during a visit to the camp, which was held recently in Kingston. The camp catered to children aged three to 12 and introduced them to techniques of farming.
AgricultureFisheries

Successful Summer Grow Camp Staged by Budding Farmers Jamaica

Budding Farmers Jamaica, the newest Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries-endorsed initiative to promote farming among children, has successfully staged its first in-person Summer Grow Camp, two years after executing the programme online. For three weeks in July, participants, ages 3-12, were engaged in exciting activities to develop their understanding of the environment and promote food security. The camp was held...
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Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has welcomed the cut in chicken price by $12.50 per kilo by Best Dressed Chicken.
AgricultureFisheries

Agriculture Minister Welcomes Chicken Price Cut

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has welcomed the price cut by Best Dressed Chicken and is anticipating a domino effect across the sector. The company has reduced the cost of its Grade-A Whole Bird and Mixed parts by $12.50 per kilo, as of Thursday, August 18. Minister Charles Jr. said the price cut is coming at a...
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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (left), listens to United States Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Nick Perry, during the diplomat’s visit to the Ministry’s office.
AgricultureCourtesy Call

Grant of US$20 Million to Support Local Spice Industry

Jamaica’s spice industry is to be amplified by a US$20-million grant from the United States (US), through its Department of Agriculture, over the course of five years. The grant will be disbursed under the ‘Food for Progress’ programme and comes against the background of exponential growth of the spice industry in the US, especially as it concerns ginger, turmeric and...
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The Lauriston/Thompson Pen Community 4-H Club’s 2022 royalty are, (from left), Prince, Raheem Smith; King, Naquan Allen; Queen, Toni-Ann Dean; and Princess, Nyoka Dockery. The winners were crowned and sashed in an official 25th anniversary ceremony at the Shiloh Apostolic Church in Spanish Town on Saturday (August 13).
AgricultureFisheriesYouth

Lauriston/Thompson Pen Community 4-H Club Crowns 2022 Royalty

Described as Jamaica’s ‘most exceptional community 4-H Club’, the Lauriston/Thompson Pen Club has crowned its prince, princess, king and queen for 2022, as the group marks its 25th anniversary. In an evening of glitz, glamour, and celebration, Miss Toni-Ann Dean was sashed as the newest Queen, Mr Naquan Allen was declared King and Raheem Smith and Nyoka Dockery were crowned...
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State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Franklin Witter, addressing the launch of the ‘Strengthening the Adaptive Capacity of Farmers and Fisherfolk in Jamaica’ pilot project on Thursday (August 11) at the Denbigh 4-H Training and Production Centre, May Pen, Clarendon.
AgricultureFisheriesYouth

600 Young Farmers and Fishers to Benefit from Pilot Project

Some 600 young farmers and fishers across five parishes will benefit from support to bolster their enterprises and combat climate change under the pilot ‘Strengthening the Adaptive Capacity of Farmers and Fisherfolk in Jamaica’ project. The initiative, which is being undertaken through a $21.5-million grant from Global Affairs Canada and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom, was...
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Executive Director, Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Dr. Ronald Blake
AgricultureYouth

More Young People Embracing Farming

More Jamaicans, especially the youth, are taking up farming as a lucrative profession, says Executive Director of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Dr. Ronald Blake. He noted that with an average farmer age of 48.7 years, Jamaica has one of the youngest farmer populations in the world, where the average age is 60. Moreover, he argued “the data [prove] that the...
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