Local farmers are being invited to submit their applications for the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Grow Castor Bean project. The project, a partnership among the Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica Baptist Union and the JBDC, is designed to create wealth in approximately 337 Baptist Church communities and aims to provide a consistent supply of castor oil for markets locally and...

The Jamaica 4-H Clubs has introduced a Youth in Fisheries Programme to attract more young persons and provide a supportive framework for the development of the fisheries sector. Among the primary objectives of the programme are training, promotion of opportunities within the sector, and enterprise development. Business and Entrepreneurship Development Manager, Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Villett Kelly-Bennett, told JIS News that...

Approximately 700 young people have received training and venture capital support through the expanded Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (RYEEP) managed by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs. This is contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, 2021, which was tabled in the House of Representatives recently. Participants also received advanced training in business development and management,...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has lauded the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as a significant partner in achieving food security through its measures to stem praedial larceny. Addressing Wednesday’s (July 13) Praedial Larceny Prevention Workshop in Montego Bay, the Minister noted that “(The JCF) plays a very important role not just for national security, but for the...

The completed eastern entrance for the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens in St. Andrew was officially reopened on Thursday, July 7. Construction of the entrance began in February 2022 and was financed by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund, to make the Gardens more attractive for visitors. Additional works are slated to be done, to include lighting throughout...

More than 1,000 young farmers are making strides in agriculture, with the help of the Jamaica 4-H Club’s Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (RYEEP). The ‘starter’ entrepreneurship programme targets rural underserved youth between 18 and 35 years with an opportunity to launch their own agricultural enterprise. The programme provides training, in partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust, in agricultural best practices,...

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has announced a sum of $50 million to be put towards strengthening the collaboration between local producers of organic fertilisers and the Ministry. Speaking at the inaugural ‘Farming as a Business’ conference, staged by the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM), at the University of Technology in Kingston on July 7, Mr. Charles...