Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Small dairy farms encouraged to prepare for revival of sector
#Kingston, June 6, 2019 – Jamaica – Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, is encouraging small dairy farmers to get ready for a turn around of the industry.
According to the Minister, permission will be given to several large companies to import dairy cattle from disease-free countries, so that the shortage can be filled, because “we want to rebuild our industry”.
Delivering the keynote address at the launch of the 2019 Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show on June 5, in White Marl, St. Catherine, Mr. Shaw said the Administration wants small farmers to start raising dairy cattle again.
The Minister added that the same route will be taken to ensure a striving beef cattle sector, as the patty making industry is purchasing more than half of the beef that they require from abroad, which he described as “unacceptable”. Mr. Shaw also used the occasion to assure members of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) that, under the re-positioning of the group from being an affiliated agency of his Ministry to a non-governmental organisation (NGO), support for farmers will not be diminished.
“The Government is not going to abandon you, we are going to work with you to do the transitioning in an orderly fashion; and most importantly, to make sure that you are at your productive best, and to support the over 230,000 small farmers in this country,” the Minister told the farmers in attendance.
The show will be held from August 4 to 6 at the Denbigh Showground in May Pen, Clarendon, under the theme ‘Grow What We Eat…Eat What We Grow’.
President of the JAS, Lenworth Fulton, said the event is moving to become an agro-business expo, where “business and investment opportunities in the sector can be initiated, pursued and consummated”.
Contact: Garfield L. Angus
Release: JIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (centre), in discussion with President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Lenworth Fulton (left), at the launch of the 2019 Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, on June 5, at the Hi-Pro Ace Supercentre in White Marl, St. Catherine. At right is Assistant Vice President at Hi-Pro, Colonel Jaimie Ogilvie.
Insert: Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (right), purchases agricultural items on sale at the launch of the 2019 Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, on June 5, at the Hi-Pro Ace Supercentre, in White Marl, St. Catherine. Assisting the Minister is Training Base Enterprise Manager at Ebony Park Academy, Selma Khani (left), and Assistant Vice President at Hi-Pro, Colonel Jaimie Ogilvie.
Photos by Dave Reid
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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