Jamaica: Brewer Red Stripe signs land lease agreement to grow cassava

Jamaica’s Agriculture Ministry and brewing company Red Stripe signed a lease agreement on January 7 for lands at Bernard Lodge in St Catherine to facilitate a multi-million dollar cassava-growing project, Jamaica Observer reported.

The agreement signed at Red Stripe’s Spanish Town Road head office in Kingston will facilitate the provision of an initial 36.2 acres to implement a pilot project.

“Thirty-six acres might seem small. But what you intend to do is employ best practices and you are going to be moving cassava production to the level (where) farmers can make (a livelihood) out of growing cassava,” Agriculture minister Roger Clarke said at the signing.

The pilot is the initial phase of the project targeting some 500 acres for cultivation over an 18-month period by Red Stripe, with some US$1 million earmarked for this segment of the undertaking.

Diageo, Red Stripe’s parent company aims to replace 20 per cent of imported inputs, primarily barley, used in the production of its flagship product Red Stripe Beer, by 2016.

A successful implementation of the pilot project is expected to pave the way for an increase in cassava production by Diageo/Red Stripe to some 2,400 acres over a five-year period. Approximately 2,500 stakeholders, primarily farmers, are expected to benefit from direct employment, with indirect benefits to accrue to another 3,750 people, according to the Ministry.

The agreement was facilitated through the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC) which negotiated the agreement on behalf of the Ministry.

08 January, 2014