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Clifford Spencer, Director of Projects and Programmes in the MSME Division at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, moderating a panel discussion on ‘Building A Sustainable Agriculture Model that Benefits Women and Youth in Agribusiness’ held at the Canadian High Commission in St. Andrew on October 18, 2018. Panellists from left are Hugh Gentles, Chairman of the Potato and Onion Producers Association of Jamaica, and Valerie Veira, Chief Executive Officer at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation. The occasion was a PROPEL-organised forum under the theme ‘...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the active engagement of workers is critical to the overall development and growth of Jamaica’s economy.

According to Minister Shaw, the country has to find creative ways to increase employee engagement, as low levels of productivity and disengagement will negatively impact the bottom line of any organization and, ultimately, national economic growth. He noted that it is advantageous for businesses, as well as the local economy, when our employees are highly motivated or properly engaged according to...

Hon. Audley Shaw (left), Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Steve Palmer, Processing Plant Manager at Best Dressed Chicken, view chickens on production line at the Best Dressed Chicken Further Processing Facility in Spring Village, St. Catherine, during a tour on October 19, 2018. Jamaica Broilers is one of the largest poultry producers in Jamaica, which is a $54-billion industry with some 100,000 small broiler farmers, most of whom are women.

Hon. Audley Shaw (centre), Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, views eggs at the ISO 9001:2015 Best Dressed Chicken Hatchery at White Marl, St. Catherine, along with Christopher Levy (right), Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Jamaica Broilers Group; and Lori-Ann Patterson Thwaites, Hatchery Manager, during a tour of the facility on October 19, 2018. Over the past 5 years the poultry industry has grown by 25% and Jamaica is 100% self-sufficient in the production of chicken and eggs.

Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, views smoked chicken breast produced at the Best Dressed Chicken Further Processing Facility in Spring Village, St. Catherine, along with Christopher Levy (right), Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Jamaica Broilers Group; during a tour of the facility on October 19, 2018. At centre is Further Processing Production Supervisor Shane Black while in the background is Dave Fairman, Vice-President of Best Dressed Chicken.

From left, Avril Leonce, Director of SME Partnership and Development at Scotiabank, Alvin Day, Executive Coach and Author, and Valerie Veira, Chief Executive Officer, Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), peruse conference magazine at the opening ceremony of day one of the Employee Engagement Conference hosted by JBDC at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on October 22, 2018.

Hon. Audley Shaw (left), Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, greets Clement Branche, Coordinator, Human Resource Development Graduate Programmes Unit at the University of the West Indies, at the opening ceremony of day one of the Employee Engagement Conference hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation under the theme ‘Disturb. Reconnect. Engage’ at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on October 22, 2018.

Alvin Day, Executive Coach and Author, autographs a copy of his book ‘If Caterpillars Can Fly, So Can I’ for presentation to the Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, at the opening ceremony of day one of the Employee Engagement Conference hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on October 22, 2018. Others from left are Avril Leonce, Director of SME Partnership and Development at Scotiabank, and Valerie Veira, Chief Executive Officer at JBDC.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon Audley Shaw, has identified the potential for Jamaica to increase its earnings from the cannabis industry in light of Canada's legalisation of the recreational use of the plant.
Minister Shaw said that in the wake of Canada’s legalisation of the use of cannabis for recreational purposes (on October 17), Jamaica could not “continue to flirt with cannabis because cannabis has now conclusively been demonstrated to be a drug-related plant that is medicinal and has properties that are incredible”.
He further...

Hon. Audley Shaw (right), Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, views mushrooms presented to him on October 18, 2018 by Her Excellency Laurie Peters, High Commissioner of Canada, and produced by Peter-Gaye Tyrell (right), Chief Executive Officer of The Toadstool. The occasion was a PROPEL-organised forum under the theme ‘Creating Opportunities: The Promotion of Sustainable Economic Development through Agribusiness for Women and Youth which highlighted the achievements of PROPEL in Jamaica over the past six years.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Andrene Collings, speaking with the Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, at a PROPEL-organised forum under the theme ‘Creating Opportunities: The Promotion of Sustainable Economic Development through Agribusiness for Women and Youth, held at the Canadian High Commission in St. Andrew on October 18, 2018. At left is Her Excellency Laurie Peters, High Commissioner of Canada.