Five former Monymusk sugar factory workers received leases to parcels of land from Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, in Hermitage, Clarendon, on February 20.
The Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) has
provided some 164 acres of prime agricultural lands on which the displaced
workers who are interested in farming can now raise livestock and plant crops. Some 26 former employees are to receive
leases.
“The lands are to be provided on
a phased basis and during phase one, HEART Trust/NTA interviewed 229 former
sugar workers, from which 15 said they were interested in crop production,” Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Agro-Invest Corporation (AIC), Dr. Alexander Powell, said at the ceremony.
He said further screening of
the recipients was done by the AIC to determine acreages to be awarded,
financial capability and commitment to the project. The other 214 workers said
that they had interest in other areas, such as barbering, auto mechanics,
hospitality, customer service, construction, plumbing and tractor maintenance.
The National Irrigation Commission
(NIC), Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and other related
agencies will join forces with the Ministry to execute their roles in seeing that
the farmers can assume possession of the lands in a timely manner.
“Beneficiaries are encouraged
to read the contract document carefully, because it details payment terms, date
of lease, conditions for renewal and other information. We are confident that
the project will deliver employment, income, revenue as well as growth and
environmental services beneficial to the farmers, their families, the community
and Jamaica,” Mr. Powell said.
In his address, State Minister
Green noted that for a long time sugar workers have been asking for some of the
land to do their farming, so the handover of leases was the culmination of a
holistic plan started over a year ago.
He said that five entities have
expressed an interest to plant cane and do value added production, and that by
the end of March, the Government would be in a position to say which of them would
be given serious consideration.
Mr. Green outlined that cash
grants of $40 million had been given to the displaced workers who each received
a one-time direct cash transfer of $150,000.
“In collaboration with the
HEART Trust/NTA, some $45 million was injected into a training and
certification programme in skills, such as barbering and hairdressing,
agri-business, entrepreneurship, crop production completely free to
participants, whether they resided on campus at Ebony Park or not,” Mr. Green
said, noting that 65 workers took part in the training.
Mr. Green pointed out each of
the 15 workers originally scheduled to receive two to three acres of land would
be based in Hermitage.
He said that RADA, NIC and AIC have been brought on board to help the farmers move away from the “hit
and miss” industry it has been over the years.
“So, soil tests were being facilitated and farmers would be given guidance as to the best types of crop to plant,” the State Minister said.
