Research Capacity of Agricultural Sector to be Strengthened

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is to receive assistance from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in the United States, to develop the research capacity of the local agricultural sector.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, who made the disclosure on May 14, informed that a delegation from the university, located in Tallahassee, is currently in the island meeting several stakeholders and institutions, in order to familiarize themselves with existing infrastructure and provisions, to determine how best they can assist.

The Minister, who was addressing the St. Andrew Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ruthven Road, told JIS News that the delegation arrived in Jamaica on Sunday, May 12, for a five-day visit.

“They have visited the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland; Bodles (in St. Catherine) and the Ministry. They will (also) be visiting the Ministry of Education, to see how they can tie everything together. Coming out of these discussions, we will be putting together a Memorandum of Understanding…hopefully within a month,” he said.

Mr. Clarke explained that the visit forms part of the Ministry’s thrust to forge links with local and overseas tertiary institutions to boost the agricultural sector’s capacity.

Noting the need for collaborative efforts in streamlining research in the sector, Mr. Clarke said this will be a “major” undertaking for the Ministry during the current fiscal year. He advised that contact has already been made with the University of Technology (UTech) for discussions, to this end.

The Minister stressed that the aim is to “bring all of those inputs together,” while assuring that “we are going to make sure that we move on that.”

Contact: Douglas McIntosh