The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining will implement a $100-million large-scale recovery programme for banana and plantain farmers, after Hurricane Melissa wiped out the country’s commercial crop during its passage on October 28.

The programme, which will be implemented by The Banana Board and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is expected to assist approximately 5,000 banana and plantain farmers and rehabilitate more than 2,500 hectares of damaged farms.

“We’re going to provide them with some fertiliser based on verified damage assessments and...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Franklin Witter, is calling on farmers and communities to work hand in hand with government institutions to combat praedial larceny, which he described as the greatest threat to Jamaica’s agricultural sector.

Speaking at a farmer sensitisation session on Thursday (February 5) at the Mandeville Parish Church in Manchester, Minister Witter stressed that collaboration is key to making the crime “harder to commit and easier to prosecute.”

He underscored that farmers play a central role in the fight but...

Jamaica’s agricultural transformation received a major boost on Wednesday, February 4, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining officially handed over the $9.4 billion Essex Valley Agro-Processing Facility and Administrative Building in Lititz, St. Elizabeth.

The complex, built to international standards under the Essex Valley Agricultural Development Project (EVADP), represents one of the most significant post-harvest investments in Jamaica in recent years. It is designed to reduce post-harvest losses, expand agro-processing output and connect farmers and processors...

Bath Botanical Gardens in St. Thomas will be rehabilitated over a five-month period at a cost of $29.5 million.

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), along with the Ministries of Tourism, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, signed a contract with SM Quality Construction for the undertaking on Thursday (February 5), at JSIF’s Richmond Avenue offices in Kingston.

The project will be implemented under the second Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI II), which is designed to enhance and promote sustainable heritage tourism experiences.
Funding is being...