New Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., says he is fully prepared to give of his best in serving the twin sectors that play a major part in sustaining the food needs of the Jamaican people. In an interview with JIS News, Minister Charles Jr. points out that he will be leading the charge to rebuild and strengthen...

Retired Chairman of the Rio Tinto Alcan Legacy Scholarship Steering Committee, Rev. Lenworth Sterling, was recently honoured by his peers for unstinting service and outstanding contributions to agriculture and education through his leadership of that body. Member of the committee and stakeholder partner, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, presented Rev. Sterling, a retired educator, with a citation and commemorative plaque during...

For nearly 200 years, farmlands within 15 miles of the Long Pond Sugar Factory in Clarks Town, Trelawny, were dedicated to cane cultivation. Since the decline in the factory’s fortunes, farmers and their families in the neighbouring districts of Crawle, Georgia, Hyde Park, Parnassus, Swanswick, and Jackson Town have been seeking alternative livelihoods, particularly against the background of the emergence...

The Trelawny 4-H Club has expanded and diversified its online programmes to meet training needs during the pandemic. Parish Manager, Natanish Hines, tells JIS News that the move is in response to the growth in demand for skills training, including in new areas, as persons look to pivot and identify other income streams. She says that since 2000, “we have...

It is not every day that one is recognised for turning his/her passion into a rewarding career, especially if that passion is, well, coffee. This is the case for Hervin Willis, who has dedicated 35 years to ensuring that every freshy brewed cup of the world’s finest coffee, harvested from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, maintains its rich authentic taste....

The lush, green hills of Spring Garden near Albert Town in Southern Trelawny is home to Cecil Robe’s 35-acre farm. There, the champion farmer plants a wide array of crops, including yam, papaya, plantain, banana and coffee, and rears more than a dozen cattle. Last year, he started cultivating strawberries, for which he receives technical support through the Rural Agricultural...

Graphic artist, Melissa Green, says learning how to provide her own supply of fruits and vegetables has benefited her mental health and that of her family during the challenges posed by the coronavirus (CoVID-19) pandemic. “It is great satisfaction, and a great type of therapy during this time when there are a lot of lockdowns going on [and] when you...

“Protect your farms, protect your investment”.  That’s the call from the Veterinary Services Division (VSD) in light of the recent re-emergence of African Swine Fever in the Caribbean. Though African Swine Fever cannot be transferred from animals to humans, this highly contagious and deadly viral disease can quickly wipe out the swine population. Discovered in Kenya in 1921, the disease...

The Government is on a drive to provide farming lands to young Jamaicans as part of efforts to encourage them to engage in farming, and also to put unused lands into food production. To make this happen, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has reserved 20 per cent of government-owned lands for youth farmers. Additionally, 20 per cent of the...