Green appeals to Jamaicans overseas to invest in island’s agri sector

Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Minister Floyd Green has urged Jamaicans living abroad to invest in the country’s agricultural sector as it is poised to become a major foreign exchange earner.

“Now is a good time to come and invest in agriculture in Jamaica. The Government is putting in some $81 million in support to the sector,” he said. The minister says some 3,000 acres of land has been set aside for orchard development. “One thousand acres will be in mango production, 1000 acres will be in ackee production and the other 1000 acres will be in breadfruit production,” Green disclosed.

He said the Government will provide the plants free of cost to those who are interested in investing in the agriculture sector. “What you need to do is come and set up the orchard,” he said.

Green was speaking last Saturday night at the annual dinner/dance and scholarship fundraising gala put on by the Olde Farmer Association, New York, Inc (OFANA) in Connecticut.

Minister Green said that last year Jamaica earned some US$30 million from yam export, making it the biggest agricultural export, and this year the figure is trending higher. This was closely followed by ackee which earned some US$24 million in export. He said that the Government is targeting specific crops such as yams and sweet potato as priority.

“I must tell you that it is an exciting time to get involved in the agricultural sector in Jamaica,” the minister told his audience, noting that the industry is currently seeing record levels of investment.

Green says one of the biggest challenges to the Jamaican farmer has been access to water, and shared that currently the Government has $10 billion in projects to bring irrigation to different areas of the country.

He said that in the past 30 years this is the first time that Jamaica has earned more foreign exchange than it has paid out.

The minister suggested that it is time that Jamaica had a full-fledged university with its main focus on agriculture, and promised that he would be working with the Ministry of Education to realise it.

He said further that the ministry, in cooperation with JAMPRO and Agro Invest, was looking to launch a global ‘Eat Jamaica’ campaign next year, given the strength of Jamaican diaspora market.

“Everybody should be eating Jamaican food. And we are going to be working with OFANA and other like organisations to get people eating Jamaican food,” he said.

The minister praised the work of OFANA in providing scholarships to students as well as the development of a plant tissue lab at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE).

Since 2012, OFANA has provided some 108 scholarships at a cost of US$120,000 to students who are pursuing agricultural education both in Jamaica and the diaspora.

Norma Jarrett, president of OFANA, says the organisation is currently vetting another 53 applicants for scholarships.

On Monday, Minister Green toured a food, environment and product safety laboratory in Connecticut to observe the work of the facility. He also had a round table meeting in Brooklyn on Monday night.