Agriculture Ministry Looking to Commence Cold Storage Infrastructure Buildout in 2025

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is moving to commence building out Jamaica’s cold storage infrastructure in 2025.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during a recent press briefing at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices in Kingston.

Cold storage facilities extend the quality, nutritional value and shelf life of agricultural produce.

Mr. Green informed that a contract valued $100 million has been signed to establish a state-of-the-art cold storage facility in Kirkvine, Manchester.

“That has been funded through [the] Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) in collaboration with… the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA). We expect that contract to start… in January,” the Minister said.

Mr. Green further informed that approval has been granted by JSIF’s Board to fund rehabilitation of the Coleyville cold storage facility.

“We are looking to engage [the] public-private model, and we would have sat with an entity that is looking to establish 30… small modular cold storage facilities over the next few years, starting with four in 2025,” he stated.

“We are also going to be doing two cold storage facilities, renewable energy powered, through a Caribbean-funded CARICOM project, and we do expect that those will be ready for the first quarter of 2025,” Mr. Green added.

He indicated that the cold storage facilities will be managed by the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), well-established farmers’ groups, and public-private partnerships operating on a for-profit basis.