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Farmer Shermaine Barnett has high praises for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) for the support given to her in the development of her sweet yam farm in Endeavour in the parish of St. Ann.
The 40 year-old mother of 12-year-old Zarek, is one of 500 farmers growing sweet yam and approximately 4,000 farmers islandwide benefitting under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries’ Production Incentive Programme (PIP).
The PIP is managed by RADA and targets nine crops, namely ginger, strawberry, cassava, Irish potato, onion, sweet and yellow yams...

There has been a 12 per cent increase in sweet yam production under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries’ Production Incentive Programme for the 2019/20 fiscal year when compared to the corresponding period of 2018/19.
Acting Senior Director of Production Marketing and Special Projects at RADA, Collin Henry, informed that a total of 55 of the 130 hectares of the produce has been reaped, producing 800 tonnes valued $150 million.
“This the farmers can use to be able to care of themselves and their families. To date, we have spent approximately $30 million...

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Government is committed to driving the growth of social enterprises and enabling entrepreneurs to formalise their operations.

Addressing a Social Return on Investment (SROI) virtual round table recently, Mr. Green noted that social enterprises have long been a feature in Jamaica, with many entrepreneurs operating informal businesses that are serving their communities in various ways.

“Almost everyone that does business in the communities in rural Jamaica has a really...

Farmers across the island who have been complaining about being unable to reach markets due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) now have a global platform called OEXONE that they can join to upload and list their crop outputs, take orders and receive payments directly to their bank accounts from buyers around the world.

The OEXONE platform facilitates diaspora trade, commerce and investment opportunities. Its key features are market-driven network capacity, driving consensus and addressing gaps that will enable shared business processes and optimise contractual transactions from simple...