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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2019 • THE AGRICULTURALIST • 9
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Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dermon Spence (3rd l), shakes hands with Consultant, Global GAP, Leonardo Ferrer Narvaez (1st l) at a Global GAP consultancy meeting at The Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston on September 2. Sharing the moment is Project Manager, Essex Valley Agriculture Development Project (EVADP), Troy Chambers. - Photo: Mark Bell
700 Farmers in Essex Valley to Benefit From Global GAP Training By Ainsworth Morris, JIS even hundred farmers, who operate in the Essex Valley region of St. Elizabeth, will benefit from training towards enabling them to achieve Global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. The training is part of the Essex Valley Agriculture Development Project (EVADP), which aims to enhance the production and productivity of farmers in a sustainable, climate-sensitive manner, while improving their livelihood. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dermon Spence, said that Global GAP certification is critical to the growth and sus-
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tainability of the local agriculture sector. The international certification was developed to ensure that farm produce meets required food-safety standards while minimising the detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations. Spence said that certification to the standard will make local farmers more competitive globally, thereby increasing the country’s agricultural exports. “We (Jamaica) cannot compete internationally without being fully certified,” he said at the Global GAP consultancy meeting at The Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (September 2).
“[I hope] that it becomes the norm that our farmers – big, medium and small – are certified and are in a place where they are prepared to take on the world and the national economy in terms of guaranteeing and ensuring that the … produce that we are consuming [is] safe, traceable and can stand up to quality scrutiny from anywhere around the world,” he added. The EVADP is being implemented through partnership between the Ministry and Global GAP. It is being funded through a grant from the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF), which is administered by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Mario Hamilton Jan 27, 1980 – Sept 11, 2019
JAS Parish Manager Killed
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griculturalist and former parish manager of the Westmoreland Jamaica Agricultural Branch Society, Mario Hamilton, 39, was shot and killed by unknown assailants at his home in Whithorn on Sept. 11. He was a graduate of Knockalva Agricultural School and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education. He is survived by his mother, five siblings, two children and his girlfriend.
Owen ‘Ages’ Gilpin
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he home going service of thanksgiving for the life and work of recently faded Owen "Ages" Gilpin (Class of 1973 JAS) will be held at The Holy Trinity Anglican Church, West Gate, Montego Bay,St. James on Saturday, October 26, 2019;commencing at 11:00 am.
Leebert ‘Grey Beard’ Taylor
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Floyd Green (2nd left), Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, along with Nigel Myrie (left), Chairman, and Peter Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, both of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, listen keenly to Everton Parkes of the Jamaica Dairy Development Board during a tour of its booth on October 1, 2019. The occasion was the opening ceremony for the 10th Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services held in Negril, Jamaica, under the theme 'Role of Advisory Services in Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management’.
eebert "Grey Beard" Taylor (Class of 1977, JSA) died on Thursday October 03, 2019 after losing a valiant battle with Prostate Cancer. Taylor was the consummate agricultural educator. He gave several decades of unstinting and dedicated service to the teaching of agricultural science at the secondary level. He served his final stint at the Sydney Pagon Agricultural school after which he went into retirement. Details on the home going service of thanksgiving for the life and work of recently faded Taylor will be publicized as soon as they become available. editor@theagriculturalist.com