Ministry of Agriculture
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Jamaica to Chair CARICOM Agriculture Ministers Meeting
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KINGSTON (JIS):
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Jamaica is scheduled to chair a meeting of the regional Ministers of Agriculture on May 20 in Guyana, which will discuss, as a key issue the critical matter of regional food security.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton who will be representing Jamaica, made this disclosure as he addressed a rural farmers meeting at the Guys Hill Catholic Church on Thursday (May 8).
He said that in light of the growing concerns among peoples of the region about the availability of a ready supply of basic foods consumed in the Caribbean, it was imperative that a regional approach to agriculture ".where we look at Guyana and see what they can grow, at Jamaica what they can grow and see how we can trade with what we have," he said.
Addressing the issue of one staple, rice, which used to be grown in Jamaica, the Minister said he was investigating a resumption of the harvesting of rice locally.
"I don't know why we abandoned it but if we used to do it we can do it again but in the meantime we're maintaining the links with CARICOM," he said.
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