Essex Valley Irrigation Programme Being Advanced In 2026/27 with $940M Gov’t Allocation

The Government will continue advancing the Essex Valley Irrigation Infrastructure Development Programme in fiscal year 2026/27 with an additional provision of $904 million.

Details of the allocation are outlined in the 2026/27 Estimates of Expenditure, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on February 12 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams.

The project is expected to contribute to food security and the agricultural sector’s modernisation by expanding the area under formal irrigation by 50 per cent and raising crop yields in Essex Valley to at least 90 per cent.

This will be achieved through the construction of wells and development of supporting agricultural infrastructure in the arable Essex Valley region of St. Elizabeth.

The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, with funding provided by the Government of Jamaica and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Work completed up to December 2025 includes the drilling of eight wells, five of which produced water; a tariff study for the National Irrigation Commission (NIC); and capacity-building for climate resilience and crop modelling.

Other achievements include the completion of four pump houses and supply and installation of a photovoltaic system as well as the completion of the supply and installation of pipelines for the irrigation network system, and rehabilitated roadways.

The supply and installation of pumps and pumping equipment are 85 per cent complete, while the construction of agricultural buildings has reached 92 per cent completion.

Targets for the upcoming fiscal year include developing the operational plan for the Essex Valley and Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project area; constructing agricultural buildings, such as the Produce Handling Facility; and completing the supply and installation of pumps and pumping equipment.

The programme, which commenced in April 2017, is scheduled for completion in March 2027.