Jamaica Fao Country Report
JAMAICA FAO COUNTRY REPORT 1.0 Introduction To The Country And Its Agricultural Sector: Size: Jamaica has a total land area of 10991 Sq.Km. making it the third largest Caribbean Island. The maximum length of the Island is 234.95 Km and the width varies from 35.4 – 82 Km. Geographical Location World Position: Jamaica enjoys a favourable location in relation to the western world. As demonstrated in Figure 1, the total landmass of the Americas, most of Europe and much of North and West Africa lie within a hemisphere centred on Jamaica, that is, within a 9 654 kilometres radius of the country. This hemisphere represents the major portion of the world’s economic activity and markets, although inhabited by less than half of the world’s population. Almost all of Jamaica’s cultural and economic associations are with countries in this hemisphere. Western Europe is within 9 654 kilometres, while Eastern Canada and the United States are well within 3 218 kilometres. A further advantage is provided because direct travel distance lines to those three areas are mostly over water which is the cheapest form of commercial transportation. The increasing use and improvement of aircraft make straight-line distance from Jamaica to other places in the world very pertinent. The closest link with North America is Miami, some 965 kilometres to the north. Such major cities as New York, Montreal, Toronto and Mexico City are from 2 414 kilometres to 3 218 kilometres flying distance; Rio de Janeiro in South America, Dakar in Africa and London and Madrid in Europe are 6 436 kilometres to 8 045 kilometres distant; Tokyo, Cape Town and New Delhi are 12 872 to 14 481 kilometres; Singapore and Sydney are 16 090 to 17 699 kilometres away.
[Show full text]