Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, has emphasised the importance of farmers working with the police in the fight against praedial larceny. He also encouraged the farmers to report farm theft to the police, while urging them not to take the law into their own hands. “Report them quietly to the...

When Nicholas Anderson decided to venture into farming seven years ago, this was not his first career choice, but he has no regrets after taking this step into somewhat unfamiliar territory. Through farming, which is his only source of income, Mr. Anderson has been able to sustain himself and his family as well as create employment for 18 members of...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, has lauded winners of this year’s Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit (PLPU) Essay and Poster competition. He was speaking at the competition’s awards ceremony, held today (August 28), at the Ministry, Hope Gardens, in Kingston. “Your bold step to enter this competition shows that you are all motivated to make a...

Film Commissioner at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Renée Robinson, says the local film industry performed remarkably for the 2017/18 financial year, contributing a record $1.2 billion in film production expenditure to the local economy. Film production expenditure, which relates to the value of the production budget that comes into the island to offset the services rendered, shows that for the...

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says he will be lobbying Parliament’s support to strengthen legislation to safeguard the public against attacks by aggressive dogs. This, he says, includes measures to hold owners accountable for “the senseless attacks we have been seeing (in recent times)”. Mr. Shaw said while the governing laws, outlined in the Dogs Liability...

Farmers are to benefit from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed between the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), to create a more structured framework within the sector. Addressing a RADA Farmers’ and Community Development Forum on August 21 at Richmond Gap, St. Thomas, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce,...

The burgeoning local bamboo and castor oil industries are to be included in the Agriculture Push-Start (APS) programme, as part of plans to capitalise on the value chain of these crops. Castor oil is to be added to the programme by the end of the year and bamboo is to be included at a later date. This was announced by...

The Government plans to amend the Agricultural Produce Act to ensure farmers are able to recover the full cost of their produce, if stolen. The proposed amendments include increasing fines from $250,000 to $3 million; expanding the definition of praedial larceny; and simplifying the procedures for registering and licensing all handlers of agricultural produce. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry...

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is reporting that investor confidence in the country is at an unprecedented all-time high, due to the stability of the economy and improved business environment. In an interview with JIS News, Vice President of Research, Advocacy and Project Implementation at JAMPRO, Shullette Cox, said that one of the greatest successes of the economic programme is the...