St. Thomas Farmers Receive 30 Land Leases Under SCJ Regularisation Initiative

Thirty land leases have been presented to farmers in St. Thomas under the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) Holdings Limited Regularisation Programme.

The presentations were made by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, during the initiative’s launch on Wednesday (July 23) at Golden Grove Primary and Infant School.

The programme aims to formalise access to unused former sugar lands, enabling farmers to repurpose them for agricultural production and long-term investments.

Wednesday’s event marked the culmination of collaborative efforts between the Agriculture Ministry and SCJ Holdings.

Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Mr. Green noted that land access was a major concern for farmers in St. Thomas.

“I am happy that we’re taking that step (presentation of land leases)…as we look to modernise agriculture, regularise land use and create sustainable rural economic opportunities,” he stated.

The Minister explained that 1,500 acres of land are being targetted under the programme, which will allow the engagements of at least 250 individuals to be regularised.

Mr. Green further noted that special focus is being placed on women and young people.

“We are proud to report that over 130 farmers have already been regularised with more than 600 acres now under formal lease agreement. This is a powerful step forward in giving our people legal recognition and the security they need to invest in their future,” the Minister stated.

Mr. Green acknowledged the challenges that emerged following the 2019 closure of the Golden Grove Sugar Factory, which significantly disrupted employment and economic activity in St. Thomas.

He noted that many former sugar workers and their descendants turned to informal farming on SCJ lands as a means of survival.

“However, as I said to the SCJ, informality cannot continue and we cannot grow a country strategically through informal methods… and that the challenges that we have faced in the past, there must be a way to solve those problems so that we can move forward,” Minister Green said.

He directed SCJ to repurpose former sugar lands for productive economic activities extending beyond St. Thomas.

Mr. Green reported that last year, more than 6,000 acres of land in St. Catherine, Clarendon, St. Thomas, Trelawny and Westmoreland were made available for lease to support a range of productive activities.

These include cash crop farming, horticulture, greenhouse cultivation, aquaculture, fish farming, livestock rearing and grass cultivation.

“So this is not just happening in St. Thomas. The challenges that you face here, we found those challenges in Trelawny… Long Pond… almost the same set of circumstances, where we’ve already formalised 34 farmers occupying 293 acres of land,” Mr. Green informed.

“We [also] found those challenges in St. Catherine, where we regularised 13 farmers occupying 82 acres of land; in fact, we have leased 84,000 acres of land, to date,” he added.

Minister Green stated that the regularisation programme provides farmers with stability, enabling access to financing, expansion of investments, and long-term planning without fear of displacement.

“You can now plan, invest, grow and inhabit it. You have a leasehold interest in the land… which has value that you can use to leverage further investment,” he said.