Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (centre), and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Garnet Edmondson (right), are shown features of one of the two 20-foot solar-powered cold-storage containers by RADA Parish Manager for St. Elizabeth, Mark Lee. The occasion was the official opening of two 20-foot, solar-powered cold-storage containers, established under the CARICOM Agri-Boost Project, in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth, on Friday (December 5).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, under the CARICOM Agri-Boost Project, officially opened two 20-foot, state-of-the-art, renewable-energy (solar) powered cold-storage systems, valued at US$57,000, that will serve over 1,000 farmers in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth, and surrounding communities.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, said the initiative, which is supported through funding from the Government of New Zealand, will bolster Jamaica’s climate resilience capabilities and safeguard farmers’ investments.
“This investment allows us to fast-track our systems around resilience, increase productivity in a real way, and introduce the kind of innovation that you farmers have longed for,” he stated at the official opening held at the Flagaman Community Centre in St. Elizabeth on Friday (December 5).
“The cold-storage containers, which are Renewable-energy powered, will extend the shelf life of perishable crops, such as tomatoes, which normally last about two weeks. We can extend that by an additional 20 days. Root crops can be stored for months,” Green added.
The agriculture minister outlined that the cold-storage containers represent phase one of the project, with additional climate-smart technologies and systems in the pipeline.
“As part of the project, we are going to be building, in this Flagaman area, five state-of-the-art greenhouses so that we can modernise some of our production systems,” Green explained.
He added that the greenhouses, valued at US$64,000, will prioritise women and youth farmers and will ensure that agricultural production in the Flagaman area and the wider parish of St Elizabeth is not interrupted by seasons or climatic shocks.
Minister Green said the Ministry’s decision to pilot the project in Flagaman was based on the area’s agricultural productivity.
“Flagaman is the community that has the most registered farmers. When you look at the profile of what is farmed in Flagaman, it requires storage, or you will continue to suffer significant losses,” he explained.
This initiative is part of the Ministry’s broader effort to build out cold-storage capacity, thereby mitigating losses from spoilage, stabilising market supply, strengthening agricultural productivity, and boosting profitability for farmers.
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