Chairman disputes CEO’s disclosure of Minard divestment plans
Published:Wednesday | December 22, 2021 | 12:08 AM
Board chairman of the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), Ian Murray, has dismissed claims by the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Al Powell that the 1,000-acre Minard Estate is being put up for divestment.
Murray declared that the board had not made any decision on the divestment, suggesting that Powell had jumped the gun in making that disclosure.
AIC manages the Brown’s Town, St Ann, estate.
“The facts are that we have not begun any divestment process. ... It has not even come for discussion,” the chairman told The Gleaner, adding that the corporation was reviewing all business lines and exploring new ones to boost the paltry income it gets from property rental, the sale of calves, and other activities.
“I cannot say what will happen 12, 24, 36 months from now, but certainly at this time, no agreement to divest has been taken.”
But Powell told The Gleaner last Tuesday that he had initiated proceedings for the divestment of the property, which is home to one of the last remaining herds of Jamaica Black cattle, because the operations no longer fit in with the mandate of the AIC.
He said he had advised Permanent Secretary Dermon Spence of the board’s intention to jettison the property.
Maintenance of the herds consumes between 12 and 14 per cent of the AIC’s annual budget, translating to $18 million to $20 million, said Powell.
In making the case for divestment, the AIC CEO cited the death of 100 head of cattle at the estate in 2018.
Back then, Doreen O’Connor, director of communication and public relations in the agriculture ministry, had explained that the farm had been operating beyond the carrying capacity of its pastures, which provide only marginal resilience to any disaster that disrupts the regrowth and rotation of the pastures.
Calls to Powell seeking a response to Murray’s rebuttal have since gone unanswered.