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The worldwide ginger market was valued at US$6.82 billion in 2020, with India, Nigeria and China being the top global producers (Global Ginger Market Report, 2021). Jamaican ginger once held pride of place in the global market, with its widely accepted superior quality, uniqueness of flavor and high oil content. However, since the initial outbreak of the ginger rhizome rot disease in 1995, production has drastically plummeted to insignificant levels and the industry has not yet recovered. In this regard, a number of intervention strategies have been implemented by the Government of Jamaica over the years, including the Eastern Jamaica Agricultural Support Project of 1993 under RADA, the Ginger Agricultural Science, Technology and Innovation Working Group initiative supported by the CTA ACP-EU under the National Commission and Science and Technology in 2005, the Ginger Resuscitation and Expansion Programme of 2011 led by the Export Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ginger Value Chain Study supported by the FAO, the Ginger Varietal Study funded through the Jamaica Business Development Fund in 2018 and the ongoing Ginger Value Chain and Certification Programme supported by the FAO, with propagation and production of disease-free planting materials. These programmes, amounting to investments of millions of dollars, through partnerships with the key private, governmental and international stakeholders, have been met with varying degrees of success.
Benzylideneanilines, the condensation products of benzaldehyde and aniline derivatives, have enjoyed significant success as optical metal ion sensors due to their ability to form stable metal complexes which exhibit distinct spectral features compared to the unbound compound. However, their use in aqueous media is limited by the hydrolytic susceptibility of the C=N moiety. Hence, an in-depth investigation into the hydrolytic degradation mechanism of a series of 2-aminophenol derived Nbenzylideneanilines was conducted wherein molecular modelling techniques were applied to elucidate the “step-by-step” transformation mechanism of these compounds from a fundamental perspective.
Numerous organic chemicals, either directly manufactured or formed as byproducts of other processes, are released into the environment. Once there, many cause adverse effects on environmental and human systems. Of particular concern are long-lasting impacts from those organic pollutants that remain in the environment for long periods of time. The development of appropriate management strategies to address this problem requires knowledge of the environmental distributions of these pollutants.
Lead, a well-known neurotoxin, remains environmentally abundant, arising from many natural and synthetic processes which encourage its environmental accumulation and hence, increased interactions with flora and fauna. Therefore, tremendous research efforts have been invested into developing various methods for its analysis and sequestration, however, affordability, sensitivity and selectivity still remain formidable challenges in this area and hence here is room for further exploration.
Moderator: Mrs Paula-Ann Porter-Jones - Broadcaster & Communications Consultant. Panelists:Dr the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell - Former Prime Minister of Grenada and Former Lead Head of Government in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet with responsibility for Science and Technology, including ICTThe Honourable Floyd Green - Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Jamaica; Professor Colin Gyles - Acting President, University of Technology, Jamaica; Professor Dale Webber - Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus, at The University of the West Indies (UWI); Professor Clive Landis - Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, at The University of the West Indies (UWI); Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine - Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the St Augustine Campus, at The University of the West Indies (UWI)
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