The Government has moved to increase the production of Tilapia with an investment of $574 million for the construction of a hatchery in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on February 29, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, said there is a “tremendous demand” for the fish on the island but due to limited...

Hot pepper farmers and other stakeholders who took part in pest surveillance training are hailing the sessions as useful and beneficial to their farming practices. A total of 169 farmers, input suppliers and nursery operators benefited from guidance to reduce the prevalence of pests in hot pepper cultivation under the Improving the Phytosanitary Food Safety and Market Access Opportunities along...

A budgetary allocation of just over $1.5 billion has been made to complete the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project in the upcoming fiscal year. The sum is contained in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The project, which began in 2019, is slated to end in December 2024. It aims to provide access to irrigation...

The Government has made letters of possession available for descendants of former sugar workers to give them security of tenure on the old Hampden sugarcane lands in Trelawny. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says the gesture will now enable the beneficiaries to build on the lands free of hassle and any worry that they could be...

Approximately $1.9 billion has been allocated to continue work under the Essex Valley Irrigation Infrastructure Development Programme in the upcoming fiscal year. Details of the provision are contained in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, which was recently tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. Implemented in April 2017,...

The Government has made a budgetary allocation of $406 million to commence the second phase of the Rehabilitation of Research Centres project in the agricultural sector in the upcoming fiscal year. The allocation is contained in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, which was tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon....

An additional $35.9 million has been budgeted to continue work under the Soil Fertility Mapping Project during fiscal year 2024/25. The project, which commenced in October 2021, aims to increase productivity and the quality of agricultural produce through an integrated soil management system. It is also intended to optimise farmers’ profits and enhance farming efficiency, while maintaining good environmental stewardship....