The government says it will make efforts to ensure that Red Stripe starts mass producing cassava for its world famous beer much earlier than the four years originally planned.

The commitment was made during a courtesy call paid on Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Hope Road, Kingston, on Tuesday, by Red Stripe’s Managing Director Ricardo Nuncio and Head of Corporate Relations, Dianne Ashton- Smith.

Holness was joined at the meeting by Minister without Portfolio in the OPM, Daryl Vaz and Minister of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture, Karl Samuda.

The ministers heard from the visiting Red Stripe executives plans for production of their flagship beer in Jamaica, with cassava being the main ingredient.

The local brewery started using cassava in the production of its beer in mid-2015, and announced that the five-per cent cassava component in its lager was being distributed on the local market in small quantities but was expected to increase over the next few months.

In June, 2015, Red Stripe commissioned its starch-processing factory, under the auspices of the then Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and the then Ministry of Agriculture, at the company’s Spanish Town Road headquarters with an investment of US$1.5 million in the 20-root tonne processing plant. The operating plant will allow the company to realise its sustainability vision of sourcing 40 per cent of raw materials locally by 2020.

During the courtesy call, Nuncio and Ashton-Smith updated Prime Minister Holness and his Caribbean colleagues on the development.

The Red Stripe executives explained that locally produced cassava starch is now a key ingredient in the brew, as the company moves to reduce imported raw material for its production.

The company said that it plans to train and employ 2,400 people in cassava production over the next five years. The initiative, dubbed ‘Project Grow’, will see the local brewer hire one person per acre of cassava that it plants, after each individual completes a 12-week training programme.

The first batch of 36 students completed training at the end of November. Each student is given a daily stipend of $1,500 for the duration of the training programme.

Additionally, 300 people will be trained over the next financial year. The company will employ all people who successfully complete the programme and pass the final examination, which will be administered by HEART.

Prime Minister Holness told the visitors that he would seek to bring forward an earlier plan to let Red Stripe have 3,000 acres of land for its cassava production.

According to the OPM, the new government is promising the 3,000 acres in one year and has indicated its willingness to provide assistance to Red Stripe in whatever else is needed.

Prime Minister Holness told the visitors that his government was serious about facilitating the private sector as the engine of growth in the economy, providing meaningful jobs for Jamaicans.

“Jamaicans will soon understand when we say it cannot be business as usual, and we expect that as we play our part as Government in trimming away the red tape and developing the markets, that the private sector will reciprocate and commit themselves to expanding industry and boosting the economy,” the prime minister said.

Nuncio said he welcomed the decision to bring forward the availability of the 3,000 acres of land within a year, noting that the aim is to produce cassava to account for 40 per cent of the beer’s ingredients, replacing corn syrup.