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The Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP), a four-year work programme within the Ministry of Agriculture and Land, has invested some $11.9 million with the Springfield Growers' Association, in Morant Bay, St. Thomas. "This investment is in the form of irrigation systems and a tractor trailer, for the propulsion of the Springfield Growers' Association's productivity," Project Director of the ASSP, Hershell...

Agriculture Minister, Roger Clarke, has said that Jamaica has to date, received more than $29.5 million euros under the European Union (EU) Banana Support Programme. The programme is the local component of the Special Framework of Assistance (SFA) initiative for traditional African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) suppliers of banana, which was introduced by the EU in June 1999, to improve...

Jamaican student athletes taking part in this year's Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are to benefit from education scholarships from the Jamaica Impact (JAMPACT) organization of New York. The scholarships will be administered through Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB), the volunteer organization that provides for the welfare of athletes from Jamaica and the wider Caribbean at the annual meet. Kamar Samuels,...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Anthony Hylton, has said that Jamaica must expand trade in goods and services in order to create lasting wealth. "As a small, open and vulnerable economy, trade in both exports and imports is important to Jamaica's economy, therefore, to expand our exports in goods and services, means the creation of more jobs...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, has invited local based call centre operators to consider putting in place more sophisticated customer service programmes, to widen their appeal to prospective clients in North America. Speaking today (April 21), at a seminar on productivity gains and call centre based customer service operations, hosted by Compumart at the Hilton Kingston...

Jamaica is expected to generate some US$700 million in long-term revenues from the hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 up to 2012. This figure which represents expected returns from new investments and exports, is in addition to what is to be realized from direct tourism spend and ticket sales. Pat Francis, President of JAMPRO noted that "the hosting...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, has urged farmers to increase production to take advantage of opportunities provided by the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Senator Grant, who was speaking at the opening of the St. Mary Agricultural Expo at the James Bond Beach in Oracabessa recently, noted that local farmers could tap into CARICOM's...

The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is now developing ginger as a nutraceutical, in response to growing demand for the product. "A nutraceutical is a bio-active compound, which when included in our diet, promotes wellness and health, by preventing diseases. It does not cure diseases but it prevents them," Product and Development Research Manager, Ann Marie Smith, explained to JIS News....

The Portmore Municipal Council has suspended all construction activities along the Port Henderson roadway in St. Catherine. Portmore Mayor, George Lee, told JIS News that the increase in building activities in the area and the ensuing problem of illegal dumping, were restricting water run-offs, causing water to settle on the roadway and resulting in significant damage to the road surface....

State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Delano Franklyn, has said that although the government has been working to strengthen relations with the Diaspora community through initiatives such as the Diaspora Conference, the issue of affording voting rights to overseas Jamaicans, while they were residing abroad, was "not on the agenda at this time". "I believe that it...

The Registrar General's Department (RGD) has launched an Application Tracking System (ATS), its newest customer service improvement initiative. Customers will no longer be required to complete physical application forms for birth, death and marriage certificates. Implemented on February 1 at all offices of the RGD, including the seven regional offices across the island, the ATS has significantly reduced a number...

Following the tremendous success of the inaugural Jamaican Diaspora Conference in June 2004, plans are well underway for the staging of this year's event. Chairman of the Diaspora Conference organising committee, Douglas Orane said this year's event was projected to be even bigger and better than the first staging of the conference. The second Jamaican Diaspora Conference, which is being...