Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.
06 Oct, 2026 0

Bartlett wants ALEX to become a regional platform

WESTERN BUREAU: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett want Jamaica’s Agricultural Linkages Exchange (ALEX) to be expanded into a Caribbean-wide platform as part of a broader push to build a regional…
Colin Virgo, chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs.
06 Oct, 2026 0

4-H chairman pushes youth farming to secure food supply

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica 4-H Clubs chairman Colin Virgo is urging Caribbean governments and agricultural stakeholders to establish a regional Youth in Agriculture Task Force, warning that the region’s…
Dr Damie Sinanan said the current shipping system makes it expensive and inefficient to move food between Caribbean territories, with some shipments requiring goods to be routed through Panama, Jamaica, or Miami in the United States before reaching neighbo
05 Oct, 2026 0

CEDA: Costly shipping, inefficient logistics hurting regional food trade

WESTERN BUREAU: The region’s push to boost food and agricultural exports is being held back by high shipping costs, inefficient logistics and fragmented sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements,…
Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green speaking at a plenary session at the 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny on September 30.
05 Oct, 2026 0

‘Real work starts’ - Green calls for action on Caribbean food barriers as CWA wraps up

WESTERN BUREAU Caribbean countries are being urged to dismantle standards barriers that continue to stifle the movement of agricultural and fisheries products across regional borders, as governments…
Floyd Green, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining
02 Oct, 2026 0

Green wants regional framework to move agricultural labour across borders

WESTERN BUREAU: Agriculture Minister Floyd Green is calling for a regional framework to allow farm workers across the Caribbean to move between countries as governments struggle to attract young…
Dave Fairman, vice-president, Best Dressed Chicken.
01 Oct, 2026 0

Poultry industry’s next growth phase hinges on intra-regional trade

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica’s poultry industry has become one of the Caribbean’s agricultural success stories, but its next phase of growth will depend on expanding intra-regional trade, according to Dave…
Emile Leiba, president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce
30 Sep, 2026 0

JCC: Gov’ts must help close price gap on Caribbean goods

WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) is pushing back against concerns raised by Rodwell Ferguson, Belize’s Minister of Agriculture, about the reluctance of some businesses to purchase…
A yam farmer unpacks yams destined for export to be picked up along the Troy main road in Trelawny last November.
30 Sep, 2026 0

New planting tech set to revolutionise yam farming

WESTERN BUREAU: A new yam propagation technology could multiply planting material up to 300-fold from a single plant could help to ease the shortage of quality seed while leaving more edible yam for…
Elizabeth Emmanuel, head of technical assistance and corporate communications at the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility.
30 Sep, 2026 0

CCRIF: Fast payouts critical to Caribbean disaster recovery

WESTERN BUREAU: The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has noted that regional governments are increasingly utilising parametric insurance to secure rapid access to cash following…