MINISTER of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture Karl Samuda, has lauded Red Stripe’s innovative Raw Material Sourcing Project Grow, which uses cassava in the production of the beer, as “exactly what the country needs now”.

Samuda’s comments were made during a visit to Red Stripe’s booth at the 2016 staging of Expo Jamaica last Thursday evening at the National Arena, where he was treated to samples of Red Stripe’s world-renowned brew.

The minister also praised the company for staging a cassava-planting initiative recently in Cheesefield, St Catherine, involving its employees. He described the initiative as a “bold move”.

“This is the kind of thing we want to see more of. This is what is going to help us turn this country around,” Samuda said.

Red Stripe’s eye-catching booth also attracted other cabinet members and government officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith; minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang; National Security Minister Robert Montague; and Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook.

The four-day expo was held from Thursday to Sunday and featured more than 300 booths mounted by businesses spanning 12 sectors.

“Red Stripe is thrilled to be a part of an event such as this, which is seen nowhere else in the Caribbean on this scale. We are making strides to position Red Stripe as a key global player, and our participation in Expo Jamaica will certainly support that ambition,” said Managing Director Ricardo Nuncio.

Earlier this year Red Stripe declared its intention to relocate production of export volumes from the United States to Jamaica. The move will strengthen the authenticity of the Jamaican brand internationally, and is also expected to have far-reaching benefits for the local industry and job creation.

The repatriation of export volumes will also result in a boost for the agriculture sector, which will benefit from an expansion of Red Stripe’s Project Grow initiative, through which the company trains workers to plant cassava for beer production.

Close to 70 young men and women have so far been trained and employed as cassava-production specialists.