RED Stripe will sign a lease agreement with the Agro Investment Corporation of Jamaica on Tuesday for a plot of land at Bernard Lodge that the beer maker says will serve as the launch of its pilot farm and factory in a project aimed at replacing the majority of imported inputs with local produce.

Under its Project Grow, Red Stripe plans to grow raw materials locally, with an aim to replace 70 per cent of imported inputs by 2020. The local brewer has already started to explore the use of cassava — it was expected to complete three pilot brews for its cassava beer by the end of 2013.

It is a move replicating parent company Diageo’s investments in supply chain rationalisation for its breweries in Africa. This came as the beer market tightened, forcing brew masters to reshape future competition by turning to edible food crops such as cassava, sorghum and maize as cheap and reliable sources of raw materials compared to imported barley.

Red Stripe had indicated in November that the project was being delayed due to troubles it had getting the lease agreement with Government.

The signing ceremony between Red Stripe and the Agro Investment Corporation of Jamaica will be held at Red Stripe’s headquarters on Spanish Town Road in Kingston.