St. Thomas Cassava Festival to Become Annual Event

Cassava and its many by-products were on full display at the inaugural St. Thomas Cassava Festival in Golden Grove, held at the Golden Grove Sports Complex on Friday (February 28).

The event, which is poised to become an annual one for the parish’s Cassava Growers Association Limited, brought together stakeholders, cassava enthusiasts and patrons for a celebration of the beloved crop.

In his address, Chief Technical Director (CTD) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Orville Palmer, informed that cassava production is a focus of the Ministry, as the crop is rich in agro-processing and export potential.

Moreover, with the World Bank indicating that the global market for cassava is growing, Mr. Palmer said that “we need to make more use of our cassava”.

“Jamaica is more than capable to capture a significant amount of the cassava global market. We need to ramp up cassava production [and] we also need to produce more efficiently so that we can get more out of each acre of land that is under cassava production,” he stated.

The CTD outlined that the Ministry will continue to give “more than the usual attention” to cassava production and the needs of cassava production.

“We have to boost our food security. Cassava is being targeted as one of the crops that we continue to focus on,” Mr. Palmer said.

For his part, President of the St. Thomas Cassava Growers Association Limited, Nigel Levy, informed that the group was formed in 2024, as cassava farmers in the eastern side of the parish eye a major uptick in production of the crop.

“We have over 200 acres of cassava growing in this Bath division, which should yield 1500 tons. In monetary value, [this will] turn over $100 million in our surrounding,” Mr. Levy said.

“We are now asking for stakeholders, agencies, politicians, farmers and everyone to support the cassava industry [in St. Thomas] so that we can become one of the main producers, of cassava not only in Jamaica but in the Caribbean. We know, without any doubt, that we have the potential because right now even though we are earning this, we are below 50 per cent of our capacity,” the President added.

According to Mr. Levy, the group’s vision is to see cassava in St. Thomas grow to become what the sugar industry was for the parish some years ago.

He said that by hosting the cassava festival annually, the group will continue to showcase and promote the versatility of the crop. “Next year will be bigger and better,” the President said.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Thomas Eastern, Dr. Michelle Charles, hailed cassava as a Jamaican symbol.

“Cassava is more than just a crop. It’s a symbol of our strength, resilience and rich Jamaican heritage. From bammy to porridge to cassava punch, and to Red Stripe beer – our farmers turn this humble root into something special,” the MP said.

Dr. Charles pledged to assist the farmers with producing more cassava in the parish, while pointing out that, “events like this one show that the farmers have massive potential and that they need our support”.