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Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport and Mining and Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth North West, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, making his contribution to the 2022/23 Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday (September 13).

Farmers in St. Elizabeth Preparing for Major Castor Bean Project

Farmers in the constituency of St. Elizabeth North West are preparing to embark on a major castor bean project. Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, informed that the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) is in the process...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr.

Partnerships An Integral Component of ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ Strategy

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (second right), listens to a point being made by Coordinator of the National Irish Potato and Onion Programme, Locksley Waites (left), at the recent launch of the 2022 planting programme in Guy’s Hill, St. Catherine. Also listening (from second left) are: Member of Parliament, St. Mary Western, Robert Montague; Member of Parliament, St. Catherine North East, Kerensia Morrison; and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Winston Simpson.

RADA to Improve Extension Services to Farmers

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ session.

Onion Production Satisfies 40 Per Cent of National Demand

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (second left), is shown a model of the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) during a visit and tour of the Portland Bright Discovery Centre in Clarendon on Friday (September 9). From left are Lead Consultant, Ann Sutton; Head of the European Union Delegation to Jamaica, Belize, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and Cayman Islands, Ambassador Marianne Van Steen; Executive Director, Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, Ingrid Parchment; and Mayor of May Pen, Councillor Winston Maragh.

Community Members Have A Role to Play in Protecting Ecosystems – Minister Charles Jr.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaking during Wednesday’s (September 7) sitting of the House of Representatives.

4 years ago Agriculture

Youth in Agriculture Land Lease Programme to be Implemented

The Agro-Invest Corporation (AIC) and Jamaica 4-H Clubs have partnered to formulate and execute the Youth in Agriculture land lease programme. Under this initiative, eligible youth farmers were selected to access lands provided by the AIC. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (September 7), Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, said through collaboration with other...

4 years ago AgricultureParliament

Agriculture Ministry to Conduct Crop Spraying Trials Pilot Using Drones

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will be conducting a crop-spraying trials pilot in the New Pen and Yallahs extension areas using drones this season. “Through this we expect to use less and get more through greater efficiency in crop spraying,” Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., said during a statement to the House of Representatives on Wednesday (September 7)....

4 years ago AgricultureParliament

Growth in Domestic Crop Production

Preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2022 (April-June), show domestic crop production growing to 219,667 tonnes, an increase of 7.4 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2021. This is also an increase over the January to March quarter of 2022, by 3.6 per cent. Domestic crop production grew by 10.4 per cent to 212,134 tonnes in the first...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaks at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (September 7), at the Agency’s Head Office in Kingston.

4 years ago AgricultureJIS Think Tank

Ministry Seeks to Expand Agriculture in Urban Areas

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is aiming to expand the implementation of agricultural practices in urban areas, which will include backyard gardening and vertical farming. Critical to the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign is the involvement of Jamaicans in the process of becoming food secure through creating opportunities for self- sufficiency. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr.,...

Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Parish Manager for Trelawny, Courtney Taylor.

4 years ago Agriculture

RADA Assists Trelawny Farmers to Transition From Sugar Cane

Sugar-cane farmers in Trelawny are being assisted by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) in transitioning to other crops, given the decline of the sugar industry. Parish Agricultural Manager, Courtney Taylor, said that the aim is to diversify the crops being produced in the parish and ease its heavy dependence on others, such as yam. “Trelawny is one of the...

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.

4 years ago AgricultureClimate Change

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 be carried out across the Agro Parks and Production Zones. Additional trees will be planted at the Ebony Park and...

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).

4 years ago AgricultureFisheries

Southern Plains Agricultural Project Progressing Ahead of Schedule

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is reporting that the Southern Plains Agricultural Development (SPAD) Project is progressing ahead of schedule. Speaking during a tour of the Amity Hall worksite in St. Catherine on Thursday (September 1), Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. said he expects the impact of the project to be massive. “It’s going to push agriculture, push...