Frazer-Binns ploughs through housing plan for cane lands

WESTERN BUREAU:

Opposition Spokesperson on Land Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns is pushing back against plans by the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) to construct 800 low-income houses on 148 acres of former sugar cane lands in Parnassus, Trelawny, saying that the lands should remain in agriculture.

Following the 2017 closing of the Long Pond Sugar Factory, the Sugar Company of Jamaica has been offloading the lands to various entities, including the HAJ.

Speaking in the Senate last Friday, Frazer-Binns labelled the plans as a mistake which requires urgent rethinking the decision by the Ministry of Agriculture to endorse the transfer of the Parnassus property from farming to housing.

“The Opposition supports the building of affordable housing solutions. However, the use of farming lands for housing cannot be the answer as it solves one problem but creates others,” Frazer-Binns told The Gleaner subsequent to her Senate presentation.

She believes the lands could be used to produce other crops to reduce the nation’s food import bill.

“Our export bill is $200 million while our import bill is $900 million. That means that there is a gap of $700 million,” said Frazer-Binns. “This is not sustainable and cannot be the correct or appropriate use of our prime agricultural lands. These arable lands at Long Pond must be put to productive use to grown agricultural crops.”

Only half of land arable

While he, too, believes arable agricultural lands should stay in the farming sector, Agriculture Minister Floyd Green is insisting that not all the lands are suitable for agriculture, hence his support for the portion earmarked for housing.

“There are 14,000 acres of land at Long Pond. Only about half of it is arable. It is from that non-arable lands that Housing Agency of Jamaica intends to use 148 acres to build 800 low-income housing solutions,” explained Green.

“There is presently an arrangement with National Housing Trust and National Land Agency to transfer to the [agriculture] ministry lands which are appropriate for agriculture. This has so far seen 25,000 acres transferred,” added Green.

However, Frazer-Binns believes that while the lands might not be perfect for all crops, it could be used to grow some of the more than 50 crops approved for the United States market. At present, only 13 are being exported.

She warned that once the land goes into housing, it is lost to agriculture forever, so it is important that the decision be carefully considered.

Denton Alvaranga, acting president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, also supports the view that prime agricultural lands should not be used for housing.

“Prime agricultural lands can help advance the national legumes project. The project is seeking to produce enough red peas which will reduce our reliance on imports of the crop,” said Alvaranga.

editorial@gleanerjm.com