Elim Agro-Processing Plant opens in St Elizabeth
Published:Thursday | March 24, 2022 | 6:18 PM
Christopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Farmers in Braes River, St Elizabeth, as well as other surrounding communities in the breadbasket parish, will now have a place to bring their produce for processing into various products with today's official opening of the long-awaited Elim Agro-Processing Plant.
The JWN Foundation began construction on the plant, located near the Sydney Pagon STEM Academy, in June 2021 and it was completed on March 23 this year at a cost of $47 million.
The facility's creation came on the heels of the closure of the Appleton Sugar Estate in 2020, resulting in some 370 job losses. The plant will now solve the perennial problem of farmers in St Elizabeth having a substantial amount of produce going to waste due to oversupply and scarce markets.
The facility consists of 2,200 square feet of floor space and is equipped to create a number of products from breadfruit, cassava, sweet potato, turmeric, ginger, pumpkin, pineapple, and coconut oil.
The main design objectives of the plant include value-added processing of multiple products, achieving international certification, and modification for inclusion of new products.
During his keynote address at the opening ceremony, Floyd Green, Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, urged farmers to make use of modern food-production methods in order to improve the agriculture sector.
"If you are not thinking about how you are going to process and innovate, and what new products you can come up with, then we will not be able to compete," said Green, who is a former Minister of Agriculture.
Milbert Miller, the principal of the Sydney Pagon STEM Academy, voiced immense gratitude for the facility on behalf of both his school and the wider community, describing it as a game-changer for the area.
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