Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his administration has prioritised agriculture as a driver of economic growth through investment in irrigation and infrastructure development.

This, Holness outlined, is reflected under the government’s Aspire agenda, which caters to infrastructure, people and human capital development, and economic diversification. “As announced in this year’s budget, my government has committed $28 billion to water resilience projects across four parishes, Trelawny, St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland, to upgrade transmission mains, improve drought preparedness, and unlock the full productive potential of agricultural zones in these parishes,” he said.

He further expressed that the government has launched major rural development projects through the Rural Water Supply Limited, supported by the Caribbean Development Bank. “These six initiatives will enhance water access for over 38,000 rural residents, including, of course, small-scale poultry and crop farmers in underserved areas of St Mary, Trelawny, St Elizabeth, St Thomas, and St Ann,” Holness added.

However, the prime minister noted that the most significant investment, which supports agriculture and growth, is the government’s investment in irrigation for the Essex Valley.

“That’s 1,700 acres of land that will be irrigated under the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project. Over 2,000 acres of land will be irrigated, and I had the pleasure of opening up the Parnassus Agricultural Economic Zone. We have the Bernard Lodge development, which has 1,300 acres of land where we will be continuing our irrigation project.

“And the big one, the Pedro Plains Irrigation Project, has been spoken of for over 50 years, with 6,000 acres of land to be irrigated, and hopefully we can break ground for that this year. So we are making massive investments in infrastructure,” he continued.

Holness further stated that the beauty of infrastructure is that once it is built, individuals can have it for the life of the infrastructure, and this investment supports all other industries. “So if we do irrigation and domestic water supply, that also supports the poultry industry. The options for where poultry farms can be located are increased, and in fact, you can reduce the cost of production by virtue of making strategic investments in infrastructure,” he added.

Investments in roadwork

The prime minister also outlined the government’s efforts in making investments in the road network.

“Recently, we restarted the development of a bridge immediately beside the Jamaica Broilers factory, and I visited that bridge maybe late last year. We toured it. The bridge was out of commission. As a result of that, the trucks that were delivering and dispatching had to take a longer route… And so, in partnership with Jamaica Broilers and the National Works Agency (NWA), we are now repairing that bridge. And I gather they are close to 50 per cent completed.”

Holness also outlined that having travelled to the NEST in Hill Run, St Catharine, the road will also be reformed under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

“The government’s investment in infrastructure is critical to the efficiency of the poultry industry and ultimately to the moderation and possibly the reduction in the cost of poultry to the consumer. Seeing that poultry is such a large part of the consumer basket.”

The prime minister also revealed that his administration is not only investing in physical infrastructure, but during his budget presentation on March 20, he announced several measures to address workforce development.

“Because more and more, agriculture is becoming a very technical engagement. It’s not merely about taking up a machete and a hoe. More and more technology is being integrated into agriculture, and the worker is required to have greater knowledge of what they’re doing.

“And so we’re investing in an expanded apprenticeship programme that will place over 300 young people in hands-on training in critical sectors, including agriculture and food processing. And these persons will be paid a stipend, and they will have a structured savings programme. And these apprentices will work directly with industry professionals, ensuring that the next generation of poultry and agribusiness workers are equipped with both knowledge and practical skills,” he continued.

Holness also revealed that artificial intelligence can be deployed in crop surveillance, in disease control, and in climate and weather mitigation, for which HEART/NSTA Trust is providing training.

“That is our national training agency. They’re training our youngsters in robotics, in mechatronics, and in some levels of artificial intelligence. They’re setting up an artificial intelligence lab. So now is a good time to partner with our Heart Trust NTA to see how these skills and these opportunities can be translated into your business model and business operations to increase productivity and efficiency, thereby reducing the price of chicken meat to the consumer,” he added.