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Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 6:12 PMKINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has launched a competition among its 13 parish offices aimed at enhancing the agency’s services to farmers island-wide, and contributing to increased agricultural production.Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Roger Clarke officially launched the project on Wednesday (September 11), at his Hope Gardens offices in St Andrew.Aproximately $1 million is up for grabs in the contest, which got underway in August, and is being held over 12 months concluding in July 2014. The objective is “to engage staff in efforts that will boost and enhance service delivery; strengthen parish leadership and team work in areas that will positively impact staff and, by extension, production and productivity in the sector”.The RADA offices will be assessed in a number of areas. These include crop production; marketing plans; market-driven production; project and livestock development; formation and strengthening of farmers groups, with emphasis on incorporating women and youth; farmer registration and verification; and agricultural disaster risk management initiatives.Each parish office is expected to write and implement at least two viable projects capable of generating income totaling at least $500,000 or strengthen the capacities of existing initiatives.The winning parish will receive $500,000 and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries trophy, while the second place parish will land the $250,000 runner-up prize. A prize of $250,000 will also be awarded to the parish deemed to have averaged best in all competition categories.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserverAgriculture and Fisheries Minister Roger Clarke (second right), along with (from left) Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Chief Executive Officer, Lenworth Fulton; RADA Board Chairman, Dr Densil Williams; and Principal Director in the Ministry, Dwight Uylett, admire the Minister’s trophy, one of the prizes which will be awarded to the winner of RADA’s national parish competition.
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RADA launches competition to boost productivity
