You are here
Home | MOAFM Delivers $9.4 billion Agro-Processing Facility and Administrative Building in Essex Valley
Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. The Most Honourable Andrew Holness (centre), and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Hon. Floyd Green (fourth left), were joined by representatives of the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UKCIF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), partner agencies and other stakeholders following the unveiling of the official sign for the Essex Valley Agro-Processing Facility in Lititz, St. Elizabeth on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
Jamaica’s agricultural transformation received a major boost on Wednesday, February 4, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining officially handed over the $9.4 billion Essex Valley Agro-Processing Facility and Administrative Building in Lititz, St. Elizabeth.
The complex, built to international standards under the Essex Valley Agricultural Development Project (EVADP), represents one of the most significant post-harvest investments in Jamaica in recent years. It is designed to reduce post-harvest losses, expand agro-processing output and connect farmers and processors to higher-value markets locally and overseas.
In addition to the agro-processing facility, the project also delivered an Administrative Building that will serve as an agricultural services hub for St. Elizabeth and Manchester. The facility will house key agencies including Agro-Investment Corporation, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and the National Irrigation Commission.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Hon. Floyd Green, explained that centralizing the agencies is a deliberate strategy to improve access.
“What we are doing here is creating a hub for our farmers, so they will be able to easily access the essential services they need. Beyond that, we have ensured the inclusion of a training room, so our farmers can be trained in keeping with the new global methodologies in agriculture,” he noted.
Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, emphasized the importance of the facility in bringing greater stability to the sector.
“We are very happy that we will now have the ability to stabilize prices by virtue of controlling excess production, and by being able to store and repurpose through processing. This is all about improving the productivity of our farmers, but more so creating market efficiency,” he stated.
The project was funded under the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UKCIF), through the Caribbean Development Bank, with additional funding from the Government of Jamaica.
Andrew Bowden, Development Representative for Jamaica, speaking on behalf of British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Alicia Herbert, said, “Essex Valley is showing what is possible when vision meets partnership. We are proud to support Jamaica in building a more resilient, food secure and prosperous future.”
Dr. Martin Baptiste, Division Chief of the Social Sector Division at the Caribbean Development Bank, also underscored the significance of the investment.
“Essex Valley is one of the most ambitious and transformational agricultural investments undertaken in Jamaica in recent years. At its core lies the simple yet powerful idea that sustainable, climate resilient agriculture can anchor rural prosperity,” he said.
This handover marks another concrete step in the Government’s mission to modernize Jamaica’s agriculture sector. The Ministry remains its commitment to expanding infrastructure and services to improve efficiency, reduce waste and create stronger market opportunities for farmers and agro-processors, as part of a national drive toward greater food security, transformation and resilience.
=30=
