Company Lauded For Investing US$2.5 Million In Agriculture

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, has lauded operators of the St. Catherine-based Model Agricultural Production Limited, for investing more than US$2.5 million in farming.

During a tour of the farm in Innswood on June 2, Mr. Green said the entity is reaping success from a significant investment and high-tech cultivation.

“I am very happy that we are here celebrating a success in your productivity levels for your onion,” he said, pointing out that the company has almost one 100 acres of land in the production of onion, scallion, pumpkin, and will shortly put another 50 acres in the growing of sweet potatoes.

“What we are seeing here is part of Government’s policy initiative to ensure that we facilitate agricultural investments. We believe in agriculture, and we know that if one makes serious investments in agriculture, the returns will come,” he pointed out.

The Minister said he is pleased with the knowledge transfer that the company is providing to the farming sector from Israeli technology.

“That is what we want to see. It is not just about providing land to be used for agriculture, the critical part is that the land must be used, and we want to see all lands earmarked for farming contracted to investors at the quickest possible time,” Mr. Green said.

The Minister said he has advised the Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings (SCJH) Limited, to audit all lands that have been leased by the agency, because those not in production are not serving anybody, and the Government is on a drive to facilitate investors, by ensuring that lands that were formerly used for the production of sugar cane are used for other crops.

.He said the company has shown the capacity to grow onions at a high productivity level on a large scale, and the Ministry is targeting 100 per cent self-sufficiency in onion production under its Production Incentive Programme, which could see 20 tonnes of onions being produced on one hectare of land in 2021/2022.