Additional $631.7m Allocated for REDI II
By: , February 17, 2023The Full Story
An additional $631.7 million has been allocated for the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) II, to fund activities during the upcoming fiscal year.
The project aims to enhance access to markets and climate-resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries in the tourism and agricultural sectors.
The provision is contained in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, which were tabled in the House of Representatives recently.
Activities slated for the upcoming year include commencing and completing rehabilitation of the St. Mary Multipurpose Cooperative Society cold storage, and Hanover Bee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Honey Bottling Facility; continued support to Coffee Traders Limited; and commencing and completing the REDI II Agro-Invest Corporation Irrigation Infrastructure subproject at Plantain Garden River.
The project also seeks to commence and complete the REDI II Agro-Invest Corporation Irrigation Infrastructure subproject at Ebony Park and installation of the REDI II Plumwood Pumping Station PV Solar System; construct the REDI II Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust Holywell cabins; provide capacity-building, seedlings and chemicals to agriculture and community tourism enterprises; procure and instal equipment at the All Island Banana Growers’ Association; and conduct training for the Alpha Institute Music Tour Manual Development.
Achievements, up to December 2022, include completion of a coffee marketing strategy and market demand study report for community tourism; development of climate resilience integrated disaster risk reduction training content, inclusive of the training curriculum, and video conferencing and multimedia solution; and enhancement of COVID-19 resilience and capacity-building for agriculture and community tourism enterprises.
Additionally, preliminary designs have been completed for rehabilitation of the Hanover Bee Farmers’ Honey Bottling Facility, and St. Mary Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Photovoltaic System, while final design for the installation of the Plumwood Pumping Station Photovoltaic System has been concluded.
The project is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) with funding from the World Bank and Government of Jamaica.