Major Agricultural and Manufacturing Project to Be Undertaken in Clarendon

Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) Holdings Limited will lease approximately 725 acres of former sugar lands in Raymonds, Clarendon, to Jamaica Flour Mills and University of the West Indies/SODECO for the purpose of cultivating agricultural produce that will be used by the flour manufacturer.

The crops to be planted include breadfruit, and roots and tubers such as cassava and sweet potato.

These will be converted into a variety of flour, including a wholly produced Jamaica gluten-free flour, and other flour-based mixes and by-products.
UWI/SODECO is a research entity located in Jamaica at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalising the undertaking was signed on Thursday (April 25) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining in St. Andrew.

It was signed by Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green; Chief Executive Officer, SCJ Holdings, Joseph Shoucair; Managing Director, Jamaica Flour Mills, Derrick Nembhard; and Chief Scientist, University of the West Indies/SODECO, Professor Terrence Forrester.

Additionally, under the MOU, 20 acres of land is being reserved to establish a processing/manufacturing plant in the area to produce the flour.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Minister Green said the project is a “massive win for the agriculture sector.”

He said it aligns with the Ministry’s new FACE of food, focusing on Food Security, Agribusiness Development, Climate-Smart Technologies, and Export Expansion.

“If you think about this project, it ties directly into food security. It is clearly about agri business development. It deals with the climate, smart realities upfront and, clearly, it is a great foundation for the expansion of exports. So, this fundamentally aligns with all our priorities,” the Minister stated.

Mr. Green said UWI SODECO has committed, under the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rubric, to ensure that the excess funds generated by the commercial farming operations will be reinvested in the project.

“This is the exciting element of it because what it means is that the project will be sustainable and will also engage the community. So this is not a case where you will not see a direct benefit in the areas surrounding this project; it will provide employment for community members. But it will also look to address some of the deep rooted social economic challenges that are being faced, whether those are related to health [or] whether those are related to education.

“It will really help us to move that Clarendon belt forward and, again, to combat some of the deviant behaviour that has emerged in that area that has made it very challenging for the residents of what used to be very peaceful, quiet, strong communities. So, for us, this is a win-win project,” Minister Green stated.

Professor Forrester said it is a great partnership that will require continued investment, noting that science and technology will be used to impact the environment, health, education and livelihoods.

In his remarks, Mr. Nembhard said the investment will provide critical raw material that is needed for J.F. Mills.

“Going into farming is just a product of getting a product or raw material that we need to give us a finished product,” he stated.

Mr. Nembhard informed that the company is aiming to manufacture a wholly Jamaican produced gluten-free flour, for which trials have already commenced.

“So the prospects are good. Our desire is to create a processing facility because agriculture, for us, is just the first step, that’s the raw material. We’re going to then take that raw material and create it into a number of different flours from which we will then make mixes and, hopefully, we will see those, not only in Jamaica, but also in all the exporting countries that we go to – the [United States], [United Kingdom] and throughout the region,” he said.

Mr. Shoucair said the project will be developed in several phases and will generate employment opportunities in the parish, as well as spur development of the area around the initiative.

He said the long-term lease will run for approximately 50 years and will assist in reducing import substitution for Jamaica.

Mr. Shoucair, who pointed out that SCJ is the holder of all the Government’s former sugar lands, indicated that there is extensive acreage.

He informed that the company owns approximately 50,000 acres of land in Clarendon.