SCJ Holdings Tasked With Fast-tracking Land Divestments for Productive Economic Activities

Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) Holdings Limited has been tasked with urgently fast-tracking its divestment process to repurpose former sugar lands for productive economic activities.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, said 6,338 acres of land were leased across St. Catherine, Clarendon, St. Thomas, Trelawny and Westmoreland in 2024 for a variety of purposes.

These included cash-crop farming, horticulture/greenhouse, aquaculture/fish farming, livestock rearing and grass cultivation.

To date, SCJ has leased a total of approximately 84,279 acres of land.

“We also regularised 34 farmers occupying 293 acres of land in Long Pond, Trelawny, and regularised 13 farms on 82 acres of land in St. Catherine,” Mr. Green said.

The Minister was making his 2025/26 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 27).

Mr. Green also informed that the Government has been expanding the portfolio of land under the Ministry’s control.

He said that under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Housing Trust (NHT), lands previously managed by the entity and deemed more suitable for agriculture are now being transferred to the Ministry.

These include properties such as Dundee in Trelawny (300 acres), Parbuckle Wharf in Hanover (119 acres), Alligator Pond in St. Elizabeth (30 acres) and Unity in St. Mary (698 acres).

“We have [also] gone to the National Land Agency (NLA) and have said, where we see lands that are government-owned that are being occupied by farmers, give us, let us manage it. Under that project, we have gotten Harmony Hall in St. Ann, 1,600 acres of land, and we have already regularised 55 farmers who now have leases to work on that land,” Mr. Green said.

“We have also gotten some lands in Portland and New Pen in St. Mary (850 acres). We have received about 3,000 acres under these programmes,” he added.