Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project Remains on Track- Minister Green

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project remains on track, despite the effects of Hurricane Melissa.

The $26 billion project, which represents a major investment in national food security and economic growth, will draw from the Black River surface flow to expand irrigation access and boost agricultural production in the “breadbasket parish.”

It will bring 4,000 hectares of some of Jamaica’s most fertile land under irrigation and benefit up to 6,000 farmers and households.

Addressing farmers at the official opening of the solar cold storage project in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth on Friday (Dec. 5), Minister Green said that the Government is committed to continuing major agricultural projects that enhance resilience and food security.

He outlined the extensive preparatory work that has been undertaken on the project since 2017, including a detailed feasibility study conducted by a French company, which confirmed the project’s viability.

“They came back in 2019 and said, yes, it can work, but you have to get an environmental permit to ensure that they will allow you to take off the water,” he said.

Mr. Green acknowledged that delays during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 affected the pace of progress, but assured farmers that planning and groundwork have continued.

“We now have a preliminary drawing. We broke ground [in July], we’ve started to distribute titles, and we expect, starting next year, to go into the pipe laying phase. Clearly, we have sent out a team already to look back at the area that we have identified for offtake,” he pointed out.

“We’re supposed to take the water from across the Lacovia belt … which suffered some damage, but the river is still there. So, we don’t have a problem with that, and we already have the land that we’re going to use to establish the system,” Minister Green said.

He told the farmers that the project is part of a broader drive to modernise Jamaica’s agricultural sector, increase productivity, and ensure year-round access to water, even during periods of drought.

Minister Green reinforced the Government’s commitment to long-term solutions that secure the future of farming in St. Elizabeth.