Agriculture Minister Calls on Jamaicans to Support ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ Campaign

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., is calling on Jamaicans to support the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign, as part of efforts to ensure the country’s food security.

The initiative, announced by the Minister in May 2022, will target several priority areas, among them crop production, climate-smart practices and technologies, access to finance, and advancing and expanding insurance for farmers, with a focus on praedial larceny.

It will also facilitate development of a National Farming Trust and expansion of fisherfolk insurance.

Speaking at a ceremony on November 30 to hand over the management of Elim Agro-Processing Plant to the Sydney Pagon Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy in St. Elizabeth, Minister Charles Jr. said the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ thrust is intended to encourage citizens to eat more locally grown foods and boost local production.

“With that strategy, we are calling on every Jamaican to play your role in the movement towards food security, to reduce our [food] import bill and reduce post-harvest losses. Because if you are going to grow smart, it’s not just grow more, it’s how you grow the more, so that you don’t lose or waste… which means greater output,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister Charles Jr. further noted that the Elim Agro-Processing Plant, which was built by the J. Wray and Nephew Limited (JWN) Foundation at a cost of $47 million, is directly aligned with the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ strategy.

The 2,200 sq. ft. facility was donated by the Foundation, following the closure of the Appleton Estates Sugar Factory in 2020. The Foundation deemed it fit to continue to support the parish’s farmers, who now have the opportunity to offer value-added products on top of their primary crop production.

This agro-processing plant can dry, mill, package and store, using its state-of-the-art equipment.

Farmers will be able to take crops and turn them into chips and other products via baking and frying, as well as transitioning some crops, such as breadfruit, sweet potato and more, into powders and flour.

Minister Charles Jr. said the investment is a move to building capacity in terms of human resources and infrastructure, which will “extend the value of our products, which will ultimately give our farmers” and students an avenue to produce more profitable crops.

“The $40-million-plus investment being made in the processing plant is a significant element in building resilience in our agricultural sector. It is going to allow for youngsters at Sydney Pagon STEM Academy and in this community to be exposed to the training, which we know is going to urge them and challenge them to become even more creative than they are already,” he said.

The Minister lauded JWN Foundation for its commitment to developing the nation through investment in agriculture.

“Sometimes we must acknowledge when these things are done, because it’s not done frivolously, and it is not done by mandate or obligation. There is a purposeful intention through this Foundation to develop the community and to add and contribute positively to the country,” Mr. Charles Jr. said.