Gov’t leases land to Red Stripe for cassava cultivation

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has signed a 25-year agreement with brewery giant Red Stripe for the lease of 247 hectares of land for the mass production of cassava to be used in the company’s beverages.This is in addition to the Government’s provision of an initial 156.5 hectares of land for the period 2014 to 2016 in support of Red Stripe’s Project Grow, which aims to increase the use of local raw material, particularly cassava, in the brewing of their products.

The agreement, which was signed between the Government’s land management company, SCJ Holdings Limited (SCJH), and Red Stripe on Friday at the ministry’s New Kingston offices, will see land located in the Windsor Park and Worchester areas of St Catherine leased to Red Stripe to expand cassava cultivation.

Agriculture Minister Karl Samuda, said the initiative is in keeping with the Ministry’s Import Substitution Programme, which seeks to reduce the country’s food import bill by attaining self-sufficiency in the production of crops.

“This is an excellent start to something that I think will bear great fruit in the future. This relationship will have the effect on our economy that we are striving to realise, that is, the reduction of imports and the expansion of employment opportunities,” he noted.

The Government has also committed to ensuring adequate irrigation water source for the fields by facilitating a 25-year lease of the Windsor Park Well to Red Stripe.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Govt_leases_land_to_Red_Stripe_for_cassava_cultivation