Agriculture Minister Hints at Establishing Pineapple Factory in St. James

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Derrick Kellier, says the time is ripe to revisit the plan to establish a pineapple factory in Stonehenge, Southern St. James, to utilize the abundance of pineapple produced in that community and the adjoining areas.

“We had planned some time ago, that we would establish in this zone, as part of our development plan for this area,  a juicing facility in Stonehenge, to use pineapples from Catskin, Pisgah and Ginger Hill, so that we could create our own business for economic development,” the Minister said.

He was delivering the main address  at the official opening of the upgraded Orange Hill Primary School’s  sports field, on February 5.

The Minister  argued that the factory could serve as the catalyst to spur economic development in  the area.

“We intend to have discussions and get these plans back on the table, because this could create more opportunities for the youth and older farmers. I see the future of this area looking very bright, as pineapple is now big business in Jamaica,” the Minister said.

He told the farmers at the ceremony that the Ministry is willing to assist them and to work with them in the development of their farm holdings.

The Minister also informed citizens of  plans by the Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings (SCJH) to launch projects for the development of communities across the country, such as the ‘Navel String’ project, in which some one million trees will be planted over the next four years; and the upgrading of play fields and  roads.