The capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to assist farmers in managing pests in the field has been further strengthened as 55 field officers attached to the ministry's Agricultural Support Service's Project (ASSP) recently completed a one-week intensive upgrading training programme in Field Pest Identification and Recognition.

The training was carried out as part of the Agricultural Health and Food safety component of the ASSP, technical officer in the ministry, Marsha Norman explained. "The major aim of this training intervention was to ensure that the field staff of the ministry is familiar with the pests that impact on agricultural produce in Jamaica, and increase their hands-on knowledge and skills-base on exotic pest detection and integrated pest management information," she said.

The training, conducted by local experts, was carried out in two phases with the first running from May 8 to 12 in which 25 officers were trained at a cost of more than $1.4 million.

Participants were drafted from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the Plant Quarantine Produce Inspection Unit and the Research and Development Division.

Mrs. Norman explained further that training was important as efficiency in this area had an impact not only on the earnings of farmers locally, but also on the foods the nation consumes. "So when we train field officers, it's with the ultimate objective of improving the livelihood of farmers," she noted.

Thirty officers received training during the second phase of the programme, which ran from November 20 to 24.