Lead Stories

Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development.
19 Jan, 2026 0

McKenzie to convene high-level meeting to expand AMANDA system after Melissa

WESTERN BUREAU: Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie will convene a high-level executive meeting this week with municipal chief executive officers, directors of…
Edwin Allen’s Leanna Lewis (left) accepts the Girls’ Championship trophy presented by Don Wehby, group chief executive officer, GraceKennedy Group in 2022.
19 Jan, 2026 0

Wehby a ‘true legend’

The University of the West Indies (UWI) on Saturday posthumously conferred the honorary Doctor of Laws on late business titan Don Wehby, hailing him as a “proud son of the soil” whose uncanny…
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis
19 Jan, 2026 0

Auditor general wants assets worth millions recovered at RADA

The loss of government assets worth tens of millions of dollars at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has led to Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis making a referral to Financial…
ACP Christopher Phillips addressing a farewell reception in his honour as he prepare to take up duties in Area 3.
19 Jan, 2026 0

Phillips urges wider enforcement support as Area Five records crime reduction

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Christopher Phillips is challenging enforcement agencies operating in Area Five to intensify their efforts and lend stronger support to the police-led crime…
Daniel Goulbourne, a RADA-registered farmer for 15 years, farms two and a half acres at Parnassus, paying $20,000 per acre annually in lease fees. Despite this, he said there is no verification of storm damage to his farm and no meaningful assistance.
18 Jan, 2026 0

‘Food soldiers’ struggle

With climate resilience and national food security at the heart of Jamaica’s agricultural policy, farmers at the Parnassus, Spring Plains, and Ebony Park agro parks in Clarendon say they are relied on…
Sweet potato farmers in the Spring Plains agro park in Clarendon check on their crop during a visit by The Sunday Gleaner.
18 Jan, 2026 0

Sweet potato’s bitter battle

The sweet potato, long designated a “good carbohydrate”, commands premium prices on the local market and carries major value-added potential, from flour and chips for the fast-food industry to salads,…
Annette Graham, weeds out sweetcorn on ESL farm in Spring Plains, Clarendon, during a recent Sunday Gleaner visit to agro parks in Clarendon.
18 Jan, 2026 0

Remembering Spring Plains’ ‘M-16 tomatoes’

Forty-three years after then Prime Minister Edward Seaga announced that Spring Plains in rural Clarendon would become a high-tech agricultural investment, the property remains a central pillar of…
Third-generation farmer Carlington McCook, who is also a police officer with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, told The Sunday Gleaner that he lost approximately $1 million worth of lettuce, pak choi, and cabbage to Melissa’s fierce winds and flood rains.
18 Jan, 2026 0

Bog Hole’s green basket under strain

If you enjoy green, leafy vegetables, chances are some of what is on your plate came from Bog Hole, a farming community near the St Ann-Clarendon border, home to farmers spanning generations. Located…
Alesha pumping gas at at Willis Gas Station in Cave Valley, St Ann, last week. She recalled that days after the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October, all she could see was water when she looked down at the town.
18 Jan, 2026 0

Mentally draining, but Cave Valley rebounds from Melissa

It is a fight that has exacted physical, mental, and emotional pain, but business operators in Cave Valley, St Ann, are clawing their way back following devastation when Hurricane Melissa dumped…